Starcraft II: Another World
by GrimMoody
Summary: An oldie, but a "goodie"...I hope. Reposting of an older, incomplete, and personal version of Starcraft 2. This is the story of the entrance of the Protoss/Zerg Hybrids into the Koprullu Sector. In this chapter, things go horribly wrong.
1. Introduction

**I don't own Starcraft.**

Another World

Prologue: The Results of Brood War

Computer entry 392:

Everyone is dead. Everything is dead. We shadows that remain cannot last forever. There is no hope for the future that I can see. The forever lost cry out to us, yet we cannot avenge them. Our power is diminished, our faith has dissipated in the paths and terror of the swarm. Life is gone.

It started with the loss of the human Kerrigan, from the failure and arrogance of Arcturus Mengsk. Today, though his 'greatest enemy', the Confederacy, is no more, the remaining humans under his domain are few and disheartened. The hearts of the people are lost to him. One of the universe's most noble soldiers, James Raynor, has despised the rule of Mengsk, and indeed in his attempts to aid the Protoss he has lost everything he held dear. If only he had not trusted the lies of his fallen comrade, the void of space might not have consumed him and...Fenix might walk among us again.

The hero Fenix fell twice before the zerg, the first time to rise as a dragoon, the second to rise no more. His former master and servant of the lamented Conclave, Judicator Aldaris, is fallen as well; slaughtered mercilessly before he could reveal the Matriarch Raszagal's mental slavery to zerg motives. She in murderous turn died by the hand of her own servant, Dark Templar Zeratul, who has disappeared into distant stars and faded outside the bounds of knowledge. The only one left to guide the Protoss is the young and flighty Artanis, who is by no means ready for his own position.

Perhaps the more tragic tale belongs to the United Earth Directorate. Their expeditionary force was decimated entirely, other than the infested, but not before the admirals Alexei Stukov and Gerard Dugalle were betrayed, one by a supposed former Confederate, the other by own his arrogant demeanor and melancholy hand. Earth never found out what happened during that last battle when existed the alliance of the Protoss, Dominion, and UED. When destroyed, they were unable to tell Earth that they had allied with whom they had formerly considered enemies or subjects of conquest. The next UED forces will not aid the universe, but will persist in their own selfish motives and put us all in fool's graves. Even so, they will not be here for some time. Earth is distant, I have heard.

And this Sarah Kerrigan, self-appointed Queen of Blades, she has become our greatest enemy, our greatest fear. What force can now withstand the swarm? Is it the Protoss, diminished in number and motivated only by survival? Is it the Terrans, whose strength is not near what it had been prior to this futility, or who are far away and do not understand what we Korprulu Sector natives must contend with?

No, there is no longer any help for us, not even in our own means. Our existence is based upon the weariness of Kerrigan. It is fortunate the Overmind is gone; this foul zerg would have destroyed us steadily, being as it was without human frailties and attitudes. But the hand of the Queen of Blades shakes for reason unknown; it is in this pause that we shadows must breathe our last.

One small human girl I once met while at the Terran world of Moria still has hope. She claims that if we are shadow, there must be a source of light. The child realizes our peril, yet her heart shines on in faith of another world, a new universe without the encompassing creep of zerg. Yet how can I wish that she is wrong? Or how could I deny the capabilities of the swarm and their dark mistress? Either the end is coming, or miracles still happen.

-Judicator Namixis of Shakuras

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Author's Notes:

- Hi, Starcraft section! I missed you! I've been over at the Mega Man side of things for a while, and I feel like I need a break from it. I've actually got a new, unique Starcraft project brewing in my head, but I'm not going to talk about that until it's closer to being complete.

For now, allow me to explain. Those of you who might have read this story before knows that it was originally begun well before Starcraft II came out - several years, in fact. Most of you probably don't even remember. I completed the original form of this story many years ago, but then, sometime later, decided to rewrite it. This was mainly due to fixing my "unique" grammar and coming up with some more interesting new units for each race.

Trouble is, I had to write all new battle scenes. I am not the greatest at those, particularly because I usually find battle scenes boring. In Mega Man it was easier to overcome this because it was usually one vs one, and I don't have the military background to write a very convincing massive battle scene. Also, this story was originally written to be the first part of a three parter. This would have been the Zerg central part, and next Protoss, and then Terran. However, I ran into a huge brick wall, and I've never had this kind of block before or since. I now feel that the trilogy was never meant to be finished, and as I'm out of inspiration, it won't be. Don't worry, you'll like my secret project better once it's out.

So my rewrite of this particular story was never finished. And now that the real Starcraft II is out, I don't see the point. However, I did find an old file containing the complete, original version of this story. For the sake of having a complete story up instead of having a sad, half-finished mess in its place, I'm going to be posting a chapter a week of this story until it's all up.

And so yes, this story has no relevance to the real SC2. Just an old story that I hope you at least find entertaining.


	2. Majestic

The rain had hailed their coming, then paused for their arrival. The Zerg.

From his place behind a half-crumbled pillar, Templar Kariv oversaw the battlefield. This old, decrepit city was not significantly different than any other swarm-invaded habitat. It had the usual broken buildings, pitfall obscurred streets, and unidentifiable rubble scattered everywhere. Kariv looked around, checking the positions of the other Templar. The force was stationed around a small clearing where a fairly undamaged street lay. In the two stable ruins along each side where the many dragoons, all hidden behind the remains of walls. The lower floors hid several zealots. More of these footsoldiers hid with Kariv behind small hills of ruin, on the street itself. Behind them lay a pile of rubble high enough to constitute a wall, too high to climb. Ahead, the way was clear.

This was a trap, set up by Aiuran resistance fighters who remained to stay the advance on their homeworld. As the Overmind was destroyed by Tassadar, the Swarm's hold on Aiur had trembled, for all cerebrates located there were killed, leaving none for the local Zerg to obey. This left the scattered broods to fend for themselves on the nevertheless devastated planet. While most Protoss had departed, many warriors remained there to eliminate the Zerg remainder. Some refused to accept the hospitality of the Dark Templar on Shakuras, but most were simply overzealous in restoring Aiur's old glory.

One step at a time, however. First the guerillas had to ensure victory. Because the lack of control reverted most Zerg back into a territorial nature, the different animals had separated into large colonies of their particular units. Tonight the warriors would fight a huge clan of hydralisks, luring them into the trap with their combined psionic emanations.

The hydralisks arrived as expected, beginning their hunt. Kariv gave the signal and the warriors fought forth.

The stupid hydralisks wandered in the street, only to find themselves surrounded by the Protoss warriors. Acid spines shot out everywhere, but they hardly touched the Templar. Some of the beasts charged the line of warriors, but the glowing psi blades sliced through their carapaces almost easily. From behind the zealots, a few High Templar performed psi storm, sending jagged bolts of psionic energy ripping through the Zerg and scattering innards on the street.

One particularly vicious hydralisk charged at Kariv, his acid flying and long arms slashing in the air. Long drips of saliva dripped from its exoskeletal jaws and gaping mouth as it raised its stabbing claw to decapitate the Templar. Jumping to the right as it closed in, Kariv swung his left psi blade into the back of the creature's snake-like body, producing an echoing cry. Two acid spines bounced away from Kariv's shielding as the monster turned and snapped its jaws at its adversary. Kariv simply rolled under him, forcing his blades into the soft underbelly. After he immediately rolled away, another hydralisk arrived to challenge. Kariv continued to slash at the Zerg, but his shield was weakening from the continuous acid spines.

A sudden flash of light stunned Kariv, throwing him back a few yards and draining the remnant of his shields. The hydralisk was dead, slain by an overhead dragoon as it fired down on the scene. One nearby High Templar helped Kariv to his feet.

"Kariv!" he said, pointing towards the darkened sky. "Guardians have arrived without warning, and join the hydralisks in their attack."

"I would scarcely believe it if I could not see it for myself, Atonos." the stunned Templar replied. "the different Zerg have not been united since the cerebrates fell."

But it was true. Up ahead were the mighty Zerg guardians, flying over the battlefield and blasting the dragoons with their foul substance. Like bizarre crustaceans sailing throught the sky, they massed on the Protoss with more than enough in number to destroy every last dragoon. With that, none of the remaining Protoss were able to attack the guardians. Psi blades can't reach the clouds.

Though the zealots and High Templar ran behind walls and dived under the degraded buildings, there still were hydralisks to contend with. Many a zealot lost his life trying to slay the drooling ground creatures, only to be consumed in blasts of acrid liquid and burned completely through.

"Atonos!" Kariv called as he dodged behind a wrecked crystal pylon. "Call for reinforcements and air support!"

"I already have! They will be arriving at any minute now!" came the reply from under a leaning, crumbling wall.

Kariv hoped that would be soon enough.

His concern was relieved in a few moments, however. In mere minutes a division of Protoss aircraft, the scouts, cruised in gracefully and set to work dividing the guardians; in return the guardians only screamed, being unable to fight aircraft units. Escorting in several more zealots and dragoons, three carriers gracefully entered the scene, sending out their interceptors. These small airborne craft circled above the hydralisks, their lasers blasting away at the ground Zerg. However, instead of going for the interceptors, the hydralisks fired their acid spores on the carriers themselves. Two carriers were lost before the scouts finished the guardians and joined in.

Finally there was quiet; the Zerg were finished. The Protoss regrouped and arranged themselves defensively, but still awaited orders. This fight had been won easily enough, yet all anticipated another wave of the enemy.

Kariv, unsettled, turned to Atonos, who stood calmly alone. "Atonos, how did they know? Ordinarily, the hydralisks have been too foolish to destroy the carriers first. How did they know tonight that interceptors are completely dependant upon their carriers?"

"You know as well as I the answer, Kariv. She has finally come and given direction to the mindless Zerg here and have them serve her will. What is more, the Zerg are now attacking our primary stations. There will be no more reinforcements, and I have detected a hive cluster that stretches almost completely around our current position."

"Is there any means by which to return to the base? We will need to bolster their defenses immediately."

"It is unlikely, but possible. If we can escape to the south west-"

It was too late. Very rudely interupting the conversation, a sudden barage of acid dissolved the last supports of a wall on the street's right side, allowing it to crush more than a dozen zealots. Greeted with a barrage of weapons fire from the dragoons, a flood of zerglings scrambled over the blood-stained and crumbled bricks, followed by more slithering hydralisks. The air filled with mutalisks and devourers, the former using their formidible glave wurms to penetrate armor and slay warriors. The latter could only destroy other air units, but their acid spores disentegrated the scouts despite the armor of the Protoss vehicle. From the left of the street came the lurkers, a hydralisk mutant only capable of attacking when underground. With them came the gargantuan, bladed-tusk Ultralisks and more of the zerglings.

Kariv became dizzy in all the confusion of the futile struggle. He could see many of his comrades being slain in various manners, some by claws, others by acid and glave wurms. These Templar had survived countless battles in defense of Aiur, only to be now stabbed through with the spines of lurkers or crushed and sliced by stampeding ultralisks. Kariv turned just in time to see Atonos madly casting psi storms, only to be rushed from behind. Three zerglings jumped on his back, and Atonos was unable to shake them off before more joined in, crushing him and ripping his body to shreds.

Even as Kariv recoiled from this slaughter, bracing himself as the zerglings headed in his direction, he realized that no Zerg would fight him. The zerglings just passed him by, charging at the two zealots at his side. No matter how many of them Kariv killed, they refused to return the injury. Nor did any other ground unit, and no glave wurms fell near him.

The Templar would have continued battling with this bizarre advantage, but an ultralisk swiftly got his attention with a loud bellowing. It ran after Kariv, and he in turn bolted. However, ultralisks have greater running capacities, and it quickly caught up, delivering a powerful kick with its forelegs to Kariv's backside. The Protoss flew toward a large pile of rubble, crashing against broken pillars and bricks. Before the ultralisk could return, Kariv scrambled atop the hill and out of reach, ignoring his bruises and the steady bleeding at his waist.

But the ultralisk stopped. Even though it could easily scatter the hill of rubble and kill Kariv, it stopped and only yelled incoherently. Kariv looked around, noticing that all of the Zerg were focused on him. Not climbing the rubble to attack, the Zerg just stood on the ground while either jeering at him or staring idly as they chewed at various Protoss body parts. It was a moment before Kariv realized he was the only one left, being tortured with this agonizing defeat when his comrades had already met the Khala's end. Rainclouds had already gathered, and a gentle rain began, grieving along with Kariv.

For several minutes it continued. There were only various Zerg running around and consuming, a single grieving Protoss, and the gentle rain washing out bloodstains from the cracks and potholes in the road. After a quarter hour, Kariv was beyond tired of the dreadful atmosphere, and upset at himself for falling apart. If the Zerg meant to keep him alive, it couldn't be for good reasons. He had to escape, somehow. Or die, as it seemed more likely. Anything was better than simply submitting to this sort of torture.

_"What else can I do?"_

There was no time to sit and wonder. Steadily he rose, checking his psi blades for damage. They were scratched some, but still fully operational. Then looking for some destination, Kariv noticed that the number of Zerg had grown so that the ground was hardly visible. Not wanting to think about what this could mean, Kariv ignored it and charged, his blades swinging.

It was stupid, and even Kariv knew it. He managed to kill two zerglings and badly wound a hydralisk when several more of the canine zerglings knocked him down, breaking his psi blades completely. A blasting trumpet sent the zerglings away and signalled the ultralisk's return. It picked up Kariv with its blade tusks as the miniature zerg went to the top of the rubble pile. The Templar was roughly plopped back on the hill, where the zerglings immediately secured his limbs, holding their blades forcefully against his tearing skin. Forcing back a cry, Kariv struggled against the creatures, only driving their claws more deeply into him.

"That's enough." a tearing, mock-feminine voice ordered. "Let him go."

The zerglings obediently descended. Kariv sat up instantly, almost afraid of who the voice must belong to. There she was before him, the ultimate enemy, the lady of destruction, the Queen of Blades, Sarah Kerrigan. She stood formidible at less than half of Kariv's height. Her dorsal spines held aloft in the air almost as wings, if some cruel child had ripped the flesh from a dead bat. Her grin was an amused scowl, twisting in thought and opening just wide enough to reveal the points of her grey teeth. A carapace skin served as clothing, immodest at that, and her boots were leather, likely stolen from an earlier victim with the same shoe size. Likely a male, for her toenails were large and even now ripped through the seams. Two dead purple eyes gazed greedily from a dead face. Kariv stared back with a look of bitter hatred, but he didn't believe he could make a face as disturbing or ugly as hers.

Kerrigan looked Kariv up and down, licking her lips in a repulsive manner. "Now you're a rather strong 'Toss, I must say. I bet all the other Templar boys were jealous that you were so much more strong and handsome than they. Even I must say...very impressive, Kariv."

The Templar's angry look disappeared instantly fashioned itself into one of frightened disgust.

She laughed at him for a moment, then smiled almost peacefully. "Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. In fact, there is no need to hurt you at all anymore, _if _you're careful."

Kerrigan reached out her nightmarish hand as if to help him to his feet. Kariv ignored the gesture and stared aside, intent on not listening. After a full minute, she lowered her hand. A bit miffed at his reaction, she casually sat down cross-legged before him. Settling herself carefully on the broken shift, Kerrigan judged Kariv thoughtful before speaking.

"Let's talk about things a bit, shall we? Now, answer me this. Why am I here?"

Kariv didn't answer.

"Kariv, why?"

A pause. "You wish to claim the leadless Zerg on Aiur."

"Of course! It's really quite obvious. These Zerg here are mine, for they are part of my swarm, my birthright. You never thought I would just let you retake Aiur, did you? If so, you are more foolish than I believe. It's very disappointing that you weren't more prepared for my arrival. I expected a better welcome than this."

Kerrigan leaned towards Kariv. "But that's not the only reason. Care to guess another?"

Apparently he didn't. He barely glanced at her before turning his gaze away.

Kerrigan got to her feet and walked slowly towards Kariv, who persisted in ignoring her. She went to his side, bearing a grin that was akin to that of cheshire cat, if the cat was a vampire. Lightly she touched his shoulder, and though he cringed at the touch, he didn't move.

"You, my most delightful Templar, are the reason. You and all of the Protoss are now highly valuable to me. Ah, I remember when I, like you, realized how completely alone I was." Kerrigan draped her arms around Kariv's neck, while his face grew increasingly disturbed. It was becoming harder just to stare straight ahead. "Betrayed, and yes angry. Everyone else was dead, but I wasn't. And now you can imagine how that feels. Once you know you're alone, the next step is to realize you aren't. Get ready for something you'll be the first experience. The power you will gain during the process is unimaginable. And it feels _so good..._"

Her last phrase finally drew out a reaction. Kariv painfully bowed his head, letting it rest in his palms. Kerrigan grinned delightedly, that is, until Kariv suddenly reached back and gripped the sides of her face, promptly flinging her from the ruin and into a large crowd of hydralisks. The Queen of Blades screeched, but not in pain. The Templar followed and ran through the Zerg horde, trying to find out where she landed. All the monsters around didn't stop him, but were content with simply tracing quick, bloody lines across Kariv when he passed.

Now disoriented and wondering how much more blood loss he could sustain, Kariv grew more and more determined to destroy Kerrigan. Every slash from the surrounding Zerg, every life lost on that street, every year she had remained in power would be avenged. Dodging the wrath of a hydralisk and the stump of a pillar, Kariv searched for his adversary.

She was nearer than he thought, unfortunately. As the Protoss ran through the crowding animals, a stabbing pain shot in his back and stole his breath. Kerrigan had caught him with her dorsal spines, ripping at his tissues. To force the blades in deeper, she held him by his neck, her claws rooting themselves in his flesh. Kariv felt his own fluid dribble down his back, until a paralysis began to set in his shredded nerves. Kerrigan pulled away, and Kariv dropped to the ground.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" she asked. Bending over to peer into his fading green eyes, Kerrigan peered into his memories before continuing. "Ah. I see that you often wonder what it would be like to become a dragoon. First you die on the battlefield, and your body is recovered by your friends. Then you wake up to find yourself in a new environment, with new abilities. That's what I'm trying to do for you. Can you understand? You thought, in fact you're thinking right now that death can save you from my intentions. It can't."

Kerrigan turned her back. "Remember, some things are more powerful than death."

Her dorsal spine struck once, landing in the absolute center of Kariv's throat. For an instant, his eyes were a bright yellow in accordance with the shock. But quickly they faded away, and the light in him was gone. As life faded along with, an order struck Kariv's memory.

"Take him away and begin his infestation."

First Kariv died, and then the drones came.

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Author's Notes:

- This is actually one of my edited chapters, and not the original post of Chapter 1 for Another World. I was looking at the old version, and it was just too terrible to put up. I'm going to go with my edited chapters whenever possible, but for some I won't be able to, because, naturally, I didn't finish them all.

- This story is actually inspired by Paul Oakenfold's cd set, Another World. If you must listen to Oakenfold, that's the cd I recommend. They make fun of him in the techno realm for a reason. I just didn't know that at the time I wrote all of this. In any case, each chapter is inspired by a specific song from the cd. This one came from Majestic, a song that sounds just like this chapter. How can you listen to it and not think of Zerg or Kerrigan?

Listen and see: www. youtube watch?v=DDKuihmj5F8


	3. Take Me Away 'Circulation Mix'

Kerrigan observed her slaves as the last of the Protoss buildings fell. The psionic power sources, pylons, were mostly destroyed, and zerglings quickly decimating the three that remained. And the nexus, central on all Protoss military bases, was now no more than the rest of the rubble scattered everywhere on Aiur. A few mechanical workers, probes, tried to resist and fought with their mining tools, only to be broken by the flying spines of the hydralisks.

As for the Protoss defenders themselves, none of them now lived, besides the nine Templar zealots, the two archons, and a scout pilot. Every one of them had joined Kariv. They were lined up in their chrysalises, protected by several spore and sunken colonies from respectively air and ground enemies. Each of these warriors had fought bravely, but were taken alone. The zealots were easily enough for the massive swarms to capture. All that her forces had to do was seperate and overcome each individual. While Kerrigan didn't think that she would need to gather any pilots, being as the ground units would do just as well, one particular scout pilot was far too appealing to pass up. His devastating strategies on Aiur proved that he would be of great value to the swarm. He always had seemed to know what kind of Protoss defense would counter a Zerg offense, and he knew which Zerg offense could overcome it. If infested, there was no telling how he could use this knowledge against Shakuras.

The Queen of Blades shut her eyes, savoring the intense memory of his recovery. While the battle, or rather slaughter, of the base was in full swing, several scouts were fighting against the airborne Zerg that was concentrating on their starports. The favorite pilot, Elihur, was leading the way, but even his skill and direction couldn't stand up to the numerous bands of devourers that attacked; there is no one soldier so strong that a large enough number can't take him down. These flying monsters propelled acid spores at his entire fleet, creating vivid fireworks as the acid spores hit fuel lines, engines, or other vital hardware. Many scouts streaked down to the surface of Aiur and crashed on its surface; a good number of them didn't even make it that far before being shattered out across the hills. Elihur was forced to dodge shards of his own comrades as he flew straight through the smoke their ships caused.

Elihur became instantly suspicious once he noticed that none of the acid spores hit his ship's armor. As he passed under a zooming scout headed for the ground, the smoke grew thicker, and the pilot was unable to see the seventeen scourges that waited ahead, each strategically positioned, but not to kill. Nine of these kamakazi Zerg flung themselves at Taranos's propulsion systems, each with a scalding shriek. Very carefully they aimed at the Protoss's prupulsion systems, ending his ability to manuever in mid-air, and he could only hover there, helpless. Dead in the water, the warrior was could only fire at the remaining eight scourges. Only three were destroyed before the other five crippled his weapons.

The overlords came as the last scourge sacrificed itself, dispensing several zerglings on Elihur's outer hull. The evil queen shuddered and grinned as she recalled Elihur's face when the little monsters began digging into the armor plating. He struggled hopelessly with the controls, trying to turn the ship and let the zerglings fall to their ends. While a few zerglings fell of their own accord, the scout didn't respond to his futile attempts. Left with no other option, Elihur hit the eject, shooting himself from the worthless craft.

A mutalisk noticed him and flew straight into his parachute, tangling the cords and rendering another item of Elihur's equipment worthless. The mutalisk's glave wurms cut the ropes and sent the poor warrior down. A lurker only had two moments to dodge before the Templar hit the dirt. He landed on his back, and the rocky hillside certainly wasn't the most opportune place to fall. His spine snapped and his skull ruptured. And while he died in a painless second, he was unable to see the drones that came and took his lifeless carcass away.

However, the archons were significantly more difficult to obtain. Originally, Kerrigan had hoped for at least four archons, but their greatly psionic nature made it impossible to recover them after death, because they would simply dissolve in a crumbling mass of psionic energies instantly. Even before the archons could die, those mighty energies were weapons, and would strike out in fatal bursts to rip apart the Zerg that tried to overcome. Yet at the cost of many of her smaller monsters, Kerrigan finally had archons in her possession.

_Thirteen_... She mused silently. _Thirteen unlucky little Protoss in a row..._

She felt a twinge within her. None of this felt right, but then again she didn't believe that anything felt right in her life, not leadership, not friendship, and not love. Still, she couldn't help thinking of her own infestation, and an involuntary shudder followed. The foul queen had repressed most of it, and she didn't feel compelled to unearth any of these terrifying memories. Part of her wondered why she was doing this, why she was doing the same thing to others that she herself hated. It was idle thought, she knew, because the reasons were many and all of them reasonable, from the Zerg perspective. A threat loomed, and with it hanging over her head Kerrigan would never rule in peace.

Besides, though it had been hard, Kerrigan had achieved much. Her revenge was complete, and all the universe awaited her actions in fear...and hatred. And she wouldn't just sit there and let all of her work and pains come to nothing. But she wasn't going to do the exact same thing that the overmind had done to her. Her one mercy would be to take the minds completely away from her captives, and make them no more independent than a zergling. They would neither know nor understand the world about them, but kill according to Kerrigan's selfish wishes. They wouldn't know that they were hurting, and they could never think of revenge.

Opening her eyes and speaking aloud, she referred to her trapped Protoss. "How do you feel, my servants? How does it feel to know that you are a whole new step on the ladder of the swarm's evolution?"

No response.

"As for your infestation, my dears, there's no need to be afraid. It will hurt...it will be very difficult for you, but I know you will survive it and become better than your brethren ever believed was possible. After all, I have chosen you for your individual strengths, and you wouldn't have made it this far if you weren't good enough for to serve me. Serve me well, for I am your Queen, your will and your debtor. Serve me-"

"My Queen!" the cerebrate psionically interrupted.

"What is it, Favored?" An irritated Kerrigan responded aloud, though the cerebrate was nowhere near her.

"As you have asked, I report on the infesteds' progress. It goes slow, indeed very slow. These creatures are stronger than we have formerly anticipated, for their minds are extremely difficult to grasp. Perhaps we struck too soon. Their emanations are far too powerful for just one to succumb, much less thirteen. If they can resist the will of the swarm, I fear that we have accomplished nothing here on Aiur."

"Nonsense, cerebrate. I have intensely studied the Protoss mind for many years now. They cannot rely on their genetic and psionic complications forever. We must simply have patience. The harder they resist, the more loyal they are to me in the end. I am absolutely certain they will become my strongest servants."

"Yes, my Queen...but suppose you were to create someone to help me infest them. I have always been a faithful servant for you even before your rebirth into the swarm, and even now I am grateful you chose me to continue in your work. But it would aid the infestation if you could just create another cerebrate, at least for the duration adding infested Protoss to our number."

"No," Kerrigan said, growing even more irritated. "I will not allow the traitorous cerebrates to once again take control of my swarm. You aided me as I completed the greatest of the swarm's endeavors alone, and alone you shall be to awaken these warriors. Now do not disturb me any longer and keep watch for any Protoss retaliation from the space platforms. Also, separate our chrysalises. Once alone, they will fall. Don't doubt me ever again, my favored one."

Going back to its duties, the cerebrate wondered as Kerrigan disappeared from his mind. Why wouldn't she let it have help? What was wrong with getting a little aid in the hard work? It occurred to the beast that fear might be the reason. Fear that her servants would merge to become her master, the next Overmind, and that she would lose control of all the swarm and all the universe. And all of herself, it knew. No matter how she tried to hide it, Kerrigan still had within her that one last piece of human mind. A small particle, but significant. The cerebrates had known this since her rebirth, but the Overmind had convinced them that it was just a violent spirit to inspire the Zerg. Maybe so, but this cerebrate wasn't always certain.

The Overmind. What was it that the Overmind first said to its barely born cerebrate?

_Awaken, my child, and embrace the glory that is your birthright. Know that I am the Overmind, the eternal will of the swarm, and that you have been created to serve me..._ the cerebrate remembered. _Behold that I shall set you amongst the greatest of my cerebrates, that you might benefit from their wisdom and experience. Yet your purpose is unique. While they carry forth my will to the innumerable Broods, you have but one charge entrusted to your care. For I have found a creature that may yet become the greatest of my agents. Even now it resides within a protective Chrysalis, awaiting its rebirth into the swarm. You must watch over the Chrysalis, and ensure that no harm comes to the creature within it._

And so the young cerebrate had obeyed. The chrysalis, as it grew into maturity, attracted all of the swarm's enemies to itself, through psionic dreams and yearnings. The cerebrate was hard pressed to protect the Overmind's prize, and he was forced to defend from numerous enemies while this prize slept. When she, Sarah Kerrigan, burst from the chrysalis, the situation was much the same. Her cerebrate still protected and guided, under the will of the Overmind.

It wouldn't last. Tassadar, hero of Protoss and an honorable name among certain humans, cast himself into the Overmind and vanquished both it and himself. Sure, the cerebrates had readily formed another to take the Overmind's place, but Kerrigan struck it down, as well as several of the higher cerebrates, using her own enemies to do it for her, no less. Once her 'allies' were disposed of, she promptly eliminated many remaining cerebrates, and now the rule of the universe was hers alone, hampered only by Daggoth, Kaloth, and the few cerebrates that followed those two. This cerebrate had no doubt that Kerrigan would destroy them, just as she had done the others. It was her way.

But now where is the glory and the birthright? Everything was for the swarm back then, but now it was for her, the Queen of Blades. Not even the Overmind had been so self-centered in leadership; a certain humility in conquest it always portrayed while it sought perfection for its race. In almost a loving manner it had accepted the many species into the family genome, including their current human leader. Now the favored cerebrate could only hope the Overmind had taken the correct path in the choice of infestees.

Kerrigan's rebellion against the second Overmind showed her disloyalty to everything the swarm stood for, but what if this had been planned since the beginning? Was Kerrigan to be the Overmind now? Certainly the former leader had destroyed Aiur, but the latter had ensured the dominance of Zerg in the Korprulu sector and scattered any resistance into submission. The cerebrate well remembered her devastation of the UED, the humbling of the proud Terran Dominion, and the devastation of the once mighty Protoss.

The cerebrate's faith was reinforced by this. After all, the Overmind did say that she would be the greatest of the Zerg's agents. And if the Overmind could accept her for what she was meant to be, certainly the cerebrate could. The cerebrate would stand by her, doing her will and commanding her broods, glad to be her favored cerebrate.

If Kerrigan would let it live, that is. As she paced by the chrysalises that weren't yet being moved, she imagined to replace her favored cerebrate. It stood for all she had to overcome. It stood for her weakness, the fact that she was still dependant upon the Overmind's guidance to rule. On the other hand, it had always served her well, and it was loyal to her from its birth. There was no reason to think that it would ever betray her, and it was wise in warfare.

_"If I can infest the powerful archons, they may serve me better than that resource draining slug."_ she thought. _"But those archons will be fragile and difficult to manipulate while in the chrysalis. Well, once they're finished, it will be that much easier to infest more Protoss. If only I can get them to speed up before my reign is challenged."_

Whatever could be considered a challenge, she did not mention. Nor did she need to. The threat that loomed beyond an unknown time was clearly known in the swarm. Zeratul had well served her, thinking that his Matriarch was the only one affected by the multiple mind control techniques the Queen of Blades employed. No, he wasn't under her control, but through his eyes she saw exactly what she needed to see on the planet of dark origin.

_"The coward. Why didn't he tell anyone? He had so many friends that should know...but let him seek a vulnerability. I shall be the first and only to take advantage of this."_

Two drones came to take the archons, but Kerrigan stopped them, then addressed the two archons quickly. "Know this. Though your psionic energy is great, you've still flesh enough to become mine. It won't be easy to infest you, but it can be done." Speaking again to the drones, "Take the other Protoss away from here, just leave Kariv alone here with me. We have something to discuss."

The drones obeyed with a unified mechanical snarl, leaving quietly with the archons' chrysalises. Kerrigan turned to the chrysalis of her pet Protoss. She stroked gently its pulsing mass, smiling at her own magnificent beast, her creation. It was perfect.

"I've got plans for you, Kariv." she whispered. "A mighty servant you will be when I'm finished. Oh, don't be afraid. Even as one of the Zerg you will have the authority to command my lesser creatures, if you can accomplish a certain goal I have for you. I need you to find...a certain someone. He is very important, so you must draw him here to Aiur. It won't be difficult for you to find him, trust me. Bring him, and you shall be rewarded well."

Kerrigan became silent, wondering what it would be like if she had a partner in commanding the Zerg, someone to keep watch over the broods with her and obey her completely. She wanted a valiant figure, a person of great stamina that could be easily admired, easily feared. And she knew exactly who she wanted.

Jimmy. Her Jimmy, with the strong arms and honest heart. Jimmy, the only one she could ever trust, even if he didn't trust her.

_We can still be together. You know that I still care about you. I have made you stronger, Jim. Strong enough to join me..._

A psionic message from the cerebrate again interrupted her thoughts and set the queen on irritated edge. "My Queen, forgive my disturbance, but I must report. The Protoss are beginning to show signs of weakening, very suddenly. Even at this early point, separation has already weakened their pride. It now appears that they will submit themselves, and it is now a matter of perfecting them within a short period."

"Very good, Favored. Indeed perfect. Keep me posted." With this comment, the cerebrate psionically left, hastily in its exciting duties.

_Thirteen unlucky 'Toss,_ the Queen smiled, as she again caressed the lonely chrysalis. _And they're all mine._

\\\\\

Author's Notes:

- Writing is like a journal, even if it's not about your life. I read over this again, and it just reminds me of when I used to be sort of an emo kid... Honestly, teenagers are so weird. Anyway, don't worry. The plot picks up in the next chapter.

- Oh, and if you're wondering about the weird title, I'm just naming these chapters on the song they're based on from the Another World cd. You should try writing a story based on a song. It's easier than you think. At least if you have synesthesia, anyway.


	4. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You 'Quivver Mix'

Thirteen faces, thirteen different screams called out in the all-consuming dark. The screams penetratrated and diced, causing echoes of terror that reached out over invisible miles to cast fear and doubt on every listener. But their eyes were the worst. Glowing in faded vermillion tones, they blinked in and out according to the various pitches of their moaning. Thirteen featureless faces all in torment, all begging for help from a pit of blackness. Pair by pair the eyes winked out permanently, all except for one. The last had an arm, just one, reaching outward. It called through the darkness with cries, unintelligible save for a deep desparation, a growing need for help and escape. The arm swang wildly, snatching at the borders of the darkness. Pulling at the unseen edges, the hand ripped away the night as if it were a threadbare curtain. In place of the black was a blinding light that silenced the weeping of the thirteen.

_"We can still be together. You know that I still care about you..."_

The scene immediately changed.

Zerg flooded in, tightening their grip upon Korhal. A few marines, the few defense units that were left, fired back automatically with a encroaching sense of despair; they knew there was no way to survive. Their bullets shattered on the hydralisk carapaces, barely scratching their hard skin or discouraging them in the slightest. Firing back their putrid ammunition, the hydralisks soon ended the pitiful humans, who screamed bitterly as the acid spines penetrated their armor, their clothes, their bodies.

Shrieking over the dead Terrans, a group of seven mutalisks flew above the ruin, in a sort of synchronized pattern. Almost a dance. A dance of demons or imps, still crying out in their terrible voices, welcoming a new dawn for the swarm, cheerfully announcing the dominance of their race. The roaring grew louder and louder as the mutalisks began to whirl about continuously faster-

_"...I have made you stronger, Jim. Strong enough to join me..."_

An image appeared, flashing for only one significant, horrifying moment. It was an infested picture of a perversion smeared Terran, no longer a victim but an aggressor. He stood in the center of the battlefield to command his monsters in the kill, lauding and thoroughly drinking in the devastating victory. A wide, grimacing smile opened up, releasing a laugh that echoed across the shredded lands. This figure was great in power, deadly in name, James Raynor.

The Terran woke with a start, gasping uncontrollably in fear and blinking to ascertain his surroundings. He was not infested or leading Zerg forces, just simply waking from a nightmare in his quiet bedroom on the starship Hyperion. Raynor had learned years ago that it was never too early for a beer.

Raynor got up suddenly from his bed, rather uncomfortable but suitable enough for a soldier. None of the other objects in his room were meant for anything but direct use either. A set of drawers, plain steel things that held plain clothes (uniforms and a few civilian things), occupied the wall to the left of his bed, along with a door that led out of Raynor's quarters. To the right was a table and chair, the cold metal table supporting his computer and a stack of disks with everything known about the Zerg on them, taken from every human or Protoss source. Across from the bed was another door that led to his personal latrine, Raynor's current destination.

These boring yet pleasant surroundings assured him of his pure humanity as he went along. But Jim paused for a moment to look out of his window, seeing exactly what he expected to see: stars and planetary bodies reflecting the stars' light. Not the swarm attacking his ships and slaughtering his crew, just the many peaceful heavenly objects glowing through his little round window. But still, through the mild scenery Raynor realized the sense of imminent violence coming through the universe to him. Unconsciously Raynor approached his view into the void.

_"Never."_

He trusted her only once after her infestation. Kerrigan had saved them from the swarm on Aiur, in exchange for the use of the last functioning warp gate so she could start her plans against Shakuras. Raynor knew it was foolish to do, but, he'd had hopes...and besides, her forces had been stronger, and resisting her would have come to no avail, besides letting everyone who followed him and Fenix would have died. From then on, she manipulated Raynor into fighting against the United Earth Directorate, claiming that they were more dangerous than she. That wasn't quite true, as things turned out.

Maybe he had still loved her then, hoping that somehow she could be saved, but certainly not now. All Raynor's trust resulted in was the manipulation of the Protoss, the death of the proud Aldaris and hundreds of Khalai survivors, the destruction of several Dark Templar peoples and cities, and the second and permanent death of Fenix, Raynor's best friend not only among Protoss. There had been no hope for her salvation then, no matter how much he wanted to believe it.

No matter how much he could sacrifice for it.

_"Sarah must die..."_

With a rage more sudden than lightning, Raynor grabbed his pillow and began to beat it. Over and over again he punched the cotton mass, but since pillows absorb energy well, hew was only doing superficial damage. After a few more futile swings, frustration set in and he changed his tactic. His bare hands and thick, stubby nails clawed through the outer cloth, tearing it to expose the time-worn and mostly flattened innards. A terrible yell escaped him as the shattered pillow went flying to collide with his dresser.

Half comprehending his actions, Raynor stared at his destruction. The cotton guts were strewn about everywhere, on the floor, his bed, his dresser; the last bits of the exterior covered his boots. But the pillow had done no wrong, nor was it deserving or capable of suffering. There was no point in tearing it up.

"Stupid piece of crap." he muttered. "...there's probably a thousand of them in storage."

Breathing deeply to calm down, it was some time before Raynor's need to urinate grew strong enough to stir him.

Raynor's Raiders and the last of Fenix's followers had been in the deep of space for a long time, yet had still never planned their imminent invasion and destruction of the swarm in detail. The invasion would be difficult, and the people were too few. Long ago the Protoss formerly under Fenix had departed, leaving to defend their brethren on Shakuras and strengthen their fading culture. The Raiders had since disappeared and were skulking about the universe silently, gathering members slowly and carefully monitoring the Zerg's movements.

Since then, the group had actually settled down. While that may seem surprising, it was actually quite logical. Many people, distrustful of Mengsk, had left the Terran Dominion, in the hope of living a free life. These colonists had found a habitable planet in the Koprullu Sector that was distant enough to be of little interest to either the Dominion or the Zerg. The planet, called Maecenas, was tucked away behind an asteroid belt, and fairly difficult to reach. What the colonists didn't realize was that Raynor had already discovered it, making use of its defensibility.

But while Raynor already had plans at that time to strike against Kerrigan, the Maecenians were actually glad to see him there. Captain Travis Duncan had served with Jim, while they were both under Mengsk, but had been unable to escape when the Raiders had destroyed the ion cannon. Finally fed up with the self-proclaimed emperor, Duncan had himself initiated the departure from Korhal. Once reunited, Duncan had asked if Raynor and his group would defend them, as they had much less military might than his Raiders. Reluctant to abandon his plans for any length of time, Raynor nevertheless felt obligated to do his part for a better universe.

Few incidents of major consequence took place since then. In fact, the last notable thing that went on, besides a lot of strategy, observation, and various other things that went on in a colony hiding under the swarm's shadow, was the time Zeratul had mysteriously appeared from his wanderings. The Protoss sent them several Terran 'volunteers'. Strangely enough, they were each mind controlled, and Zeratul never said where they came from before he promptly disappeared again. Despite Raynor's objections to mind controlling, he accepted them, uncertain of what else he could have done. The people themselves seemed to have little memory of where they came from, and no real desire to find out. But they were good enough workers, and seemed to remember enough to be able to hate the Zerg.

And the Raiders continuously grew, while remaining mostly inactive. Many of Travis's people joined the group (and a few of the Raiders departed for the colony), but most of the new recruits only considered themselves members of the military branch of Maecenas, rather than actual soldiers fighting under Raynor. Not that they didn't want to fight the swarm, they just didn't believe that they were able to, and for the moment were content with surviving, as long as that was possible.

But Raynor had no choice but to believe in the truth of victory, especially under these new circumstances, Second Lieutenant Allen McCalla knew. The dreams had started again, including their overt cries for help. McCalla remembered those years ago when he followed Captain Raynor to Char as the Captain heeded the first psionic calls of infestation. These came years earlier from an infestee he once loved, and they tried to save her then, failing most remarkably. Allen guessed that the dreams must be worse for Raynor; they brought out his worst memories into the light.

_"It's gotta be something to do with those infesting Toss."_ McCalla guessed as he sat nervously at the briefing room table. _"I just know it. We're goin' back in!"_

The briefing room was small, meant only for the Raynor's most important officers. And that day, only the Lieutenants McCalla and Reiges were seated at the little rectangular table, which had twelve tables around it, and two more chairs waiting in corners if they were needed. A telescreen took up the wall to the front of the table, where the spare chairs were, and the left wall was a window into the void of space. The door was behind, and the other wall contained a panel that controlled what the screen showed.

Allen shifted in his chair restlessly, looking across the table at Reiges. She was sitting quietly and patiently, looking as grim and certain as she always did. The silence was too deep for Allen, especially when combined with the tension of modern times. He just had to say something, but it took him a moment to finally overcome the overwhelming force of silent sternness that surrounded the woman.

"Um, Reiges..."

"Yeah, man?"

"Uh, so...what do you think this is all about? You know, with this conference and everything..."

"I think we should wait and see what Jim has to say." she replied firmly. "No sense in idle wonderin' when we're gonna find out in a minute anyway."

McCalla sighed. First Lieutenant Hanna Reiges was always like that. He had always felt that Hanna was trying to use her stubbornness and confident speaking voice. Few dared disappoint her when she gave a command, least of all McCalla. She was, however, a very good drinker and arm wrestler. Reiges didn't mind people calling her 'sir'.

McCalla sat back again, not sure what to do with his hands. He first settled them in his lap, but Allen just couldn't settle down. He wrung his hands fitfully, wondering when Raynor would arrive. It just didn't seem very much like him to be late, and the odd tardiness only made the young soldier all the more restless. Allen tried staring out of the window as a distraction, but it didn't work for long, because his attention span was too short to be able to enjoy the blips of light (magnificent stars) that shone outside. He was soon fidgeting and patting his palms against the tabletop, all while thinking he was calm.

_Slam!_ Reiges' hands hit the table. Allen jumped.

"Kid, chill. Alright? Can you sit still for even a minute?"

"Um, sorry...I'll try..."

McCalla tried to settle down, leaning back into his chair thoughtfully. Fortunately for the both of them, Raynor made his solemn entrance. Fortunately it was less solemn then usual, and he even smiled a bit as he talked to Travis Duncan. All the same, Allen noticed a new weariness in Raynor. The dreams must be getting worse, he guessed. Out of respect, he and Reiges stood up until both Travis and James had seated. There were few regulations in Raynor's army, but many felt it appropriate to treat Raynor and Duncan with that sort of respect.

"Alright," Duncan said pleasantly. "As it so happens, our little colony has been discovered." Watching the others cringed, he chuckled a bit before going on. "No, no, not by the Zerg or Dominion. The Protoss. They managed to run into us the other day when trying to find extra mineral sources. Now, you've worked with them extensively in the past, and I'm sure now will be no different.

The Captain paused. McCalla looked curiously at Reiges, who stonily refused to return his gaze.

"The UED Vice Admiral, Alexei Stukov is infested somehow, even though we've all seen that propaganda they sent back to earth. It said he was shot into space after his funeral, but considering how the UED is, it's my guess he never made it that far, and that the Directorate never recovered his body in the first place. Whatever really did happen to him, Stukov's now operating in the swarm on the infested planet Braxis. Surrounding Zerg forces aren't that powerful at the moment, so Artanis would like us to get in there and test the nanites on him."

"Why can't the Protoss do it?" Reiges asked, not spitefully but out of curiosity. "They busy or something? Seems too much trouble to have to dig us out the nooks o' the universe for one single mission."

"Well yes, but apparently rebuilding Shakuras after all it's been through is taking them longer than expected. And I think Artanis is getting a little impatient for vengeance against the swarm. He's got some ideas on invasion and he needs to concentrate his resources on that if its gonna be done. Besides, we could use this opportunity to strike at the Zerg for ourselves anyway. Many of us are getting eager for some action."

McCalla again shifted uncomfortably, feeling the need to ask the question that burned steadily in his cerebrum. "What about Kerrigan? Can't she be..."

A menacing glare from Reiges cut him off, as well as a silent demand to shut up. She pointed at Raynor, and Allen saw quickly that he misspoke. Raynor silently brooded over Allen's statement, a slight quiver in his hazel irises as he stared at his hands. With many trembles, they slowly began to constrict, forming tight fists and pale knuckles. As if realizing was he was doing, Raynor quickly relaxed his hands, bringing one subconsciously to his forehead.

"I think it's too late."

"But what if-"

"Al, it's too late." Raynor repeated firmly. "Reiges, you brief the Raiders on the situation and get everyone ready to move out. McCalla, have the Hyperion's navigations officer scan the trajectory for Zerg presence and activity, then report back to me. No sense in letting them know we're up to something. We move out in an hour, so be ready."

With that, the Captain immediately stood up and walked out. His face was stone, not betraying the quiet lonliness he felt. As the door closed to the briefing room, Reiges turned to McCalla, berating him.

"Why'd you have to upset him like that for?" she scolded. "he's got way too much on his mind already for idiot Allen to go draggin' him down further."

"But what if she can be saved?" McCalla persisted. "I mean, what's to say the nanites can't fix her? Kerrigan can still come back to being human. There's something in there that's got to be human still."

"Dude, Jim tried savin' her before, remember? You want more people to die?"

"But this isn't the same..."

"To Jim it is. Besides, I don't think most people would like her running around alive after all she's done. Nobody's ever going to trust Kerrigan again, and she deserves it. She deserves hell, so we gotta give it to her. Doesn't matter if she's still just a little bit human, or if there's something that can make 'er look like it again. She's Zerg, and that's all she can ever be. Now leave it alone."

"But-"

"Didn't you hear me when I said leave it alone?"

Reiges emphasized her point with a meaningful glare before exiting, leaving McCalla to ponder in futility at the lack of hope. There had been a time when James and Allen would be at the officer's mess back at Korhal, and Jim would always be talking about that red-hot red-head psychic girl, that mysterious ghost surrounded in rumor and packing the sexiest butt they ever saw. Every time Raynor had an operation to complete with her, Allen urged his friend to ask her out before he in turn made a move. It was mostly a joke; hot or no, psychics scared Allen.

Now she was their enemy, their greatest nemesis and fear, uglier than an ursadon - but still with a pretty good butt.. The thought of Jim and Sarah together now was as inconceivable as Jim going out with his own mother, if Mrs. Raynor was still alive. He didn't know for sure, but somehow McCalla doubted that. Nobody's family seemed to survive anymore.

Allen sighed. He had his orders, and it was better to go complete them and forget all of that.


	5. Ubik 'Dance Mix'

Emperor Arcturus Mengsk's pace was difficult to match that day, but somehow the media of the Dominion kept up, stepping fast enough not to be far behind, but slow enough to avoid the shoves of Mengsk's bodyguards. Through the streets of the crowded New Oldham, temporary, or so Mengsk claimed, capital of the Dominion, this bizarre entourage pushed, heading towards a large science facility in the Northern Region.

The anger and bloodlust in Arcturus's eyes burned steadily. It was growing harder to deal with reporters and their meddiling questions, but at the same time Mengsk enjoyed this moment, despite his foul mood. Magellan had something waiting that he "just couldn't wait to display" ready for the Emperor, and Mengsk had a feeling it would be something interesting.

"What has the cyborg developed? What does this mean for the Dominion? Are cyborgs really more intelligent than ordinary humans? Does this mean we will be attacking the zerg? What about the Protoss, are they going to help?" The reporters shouted these and multifarious other questions over the heads of the bodyguards.

"Like dogs," Major Francis Alba muttered alongside Mengsk. "I don't see why we don't draft those guys in the army. They'd do a good job of being zerglin' fodder."

Mengsk did not respond. He was too set and determined to worry about paparazzi. It always annoyed him that Alba had problems in being quiet, especially when breaking that silence meant he employed that stupid, fake accent. Every quiet moment there was, the gruff Major just had to put in his two cents, or one cent as Mengsk considered most of the time. Fighting back an urge to tell Alba to shut up, he hoped the young man would accept the silence for a reply and follow suit.

"Man, I sure hope the stuff Magellan has here today is worth all this nonsense."

Thinking almost the same thing, Mengsk hissed, "Don't give them anything to report on."

"Oh yeah, o' course."

Where were the soldiers of Duke's time? Edmund Duke had known when to shut up, how to make his words count, and how to do what he was told. Not like this Alba, the dark-haired diplomat who was fortunate his bravery was as big as his mouth. He once stood with amazing courage years ago when the swarm had last invaded Korhal, but now when appointed his behavior matched that of someone who never fought in his life, much less against the Zerg.

And the new general was a talker as well. General John Akeroyd could in no way stand up to Duke's skill as a brutal leader of men or a strategist, but since Duke was dead and graveless, the second best would have to do, even if he was a rambler who did not understand the concept of punctuality.

The group approached the science facility, where Magellan waited for them. As usual, Magellan's mad grin shined out like the beacon of a psi emitter, making him look like a strange mythical creature in the morning light. His red-brown, far too long for regulation hair gleamed as the wind tossed them. His eye, the one not replaced by titanium and circuitry, glowed in anticipation of his important visitors.

He rubbed his hands together as Mengsk arrived. "Emperor! It's good to see you here. Come in, sir, I know you must be as excited and impatient as I am! Come in!" Noticing Mengsk's impatience and the reporters behind him, the cyborg continued, addressing the small crowd. "Please, friends, we have important business to carry out today. As soon as possible your questions will be answered. But for now, please allow us to operate. Our security,"-he signaled them with a gesture as he said this-"will be happy to escort you off the premises. Have a nice day!"

The crowd thus shoved away, Mengsk, Alba, and Magellan entered the science facility, leaving the bodyguards outside. Inside was a small lobby, sparsely maintained with a few pieces of furniture and trade publications. But they quickly moved on, as the real money went into the technology research, not the comfort of visitors.

The halls, moderately lit, led around most of the facility, going through all the building with simple, right angled turns, having doors that led to all sorts of laboratories and experiment rooms. Most every piece of equipment that could be had in the Dominion was there, and could be seen through the small, circular windows of the doors as the small group passed. Major Alba often slowed to watch some interesting work or observe the cause of some strange flashes of light or sounds. But he would have to almost run to catch back up with Mengsk, who continued his fierce pace even while inside.

_"Damn, Mengsk really hates the Zerg. Must be insanely dedicated to getting rid of them."_

And so, not fully realizing the stupidity of his thoughts, Alba caught up just as Magellan opened huge double doors to a large chamber. Inside were several scientists, all busy at computers or with tools, were operating on three wraiths. The three ships were barely recognisable as wraiths however; besides being put on stands, they were covered in all manner of cables and spare parts, looking rather ugly instead of the graceful ghosts they were before. Their wings were larger, a strange flat platform was installed on their tops, and a large belly of assorted metal and instruments gathered under them.

Alba began, "What the-"

"What?" the Emperor interrupted. "Where is General Akeroyd? He should have been here by now."

Magellan replied, "Oh yes, I meant to tell you he contacted the facility a few minutes ago. The General is going to be half an hour late, and perhaps later. He said something important had to be finished before he'd get the chance to return to Korhal."

Mengsk cursed. "On a simple patrol mission? Forget him then. We have too much to accomplish to wait for Akeroyd." the man closed his eyes for a tense moment, then opened them to reveal a calmer mood. "Alright, what are you doing to these wraiths?"

"Well sir, we here at the facility have been looking into the Dominion tech tree and came to the decision to create a proper air to ground attack vessel that is stronger than a zerg guardian. What you see before you is intended to drop a cascade of small bombs on zerg buildings and hydralisks, resulting in a small trail of destruction. It's costly in resources, but a few of these could decimate a zerg base in minutes, when used with air-attack units, or even an arbiter we might borrow from the Protoss. In any case, they have thirty percent better armor than valkeries. But of course we didn't have the resources to build it from scratch, but remodeling wraiths should do the trick."

"Very good, Magellan. Very good indeed. What do you call it?"

"Well," the cyborg mused. "we just call them bombships for now, but that sounds a bit...hm...dull, now doesn't it? I was thinking about a name of some undead spirit, to match the names of our other aircraft. It's rather interesting why we name them all after myths, like wraiths, valkeries, or...er...battlecruisers...but you do understand my point."

"Of course. Alba, you're the creative one around here. What do you think is a proper name?"

The Major thought quietly before stuttering a suggestion. "Um... a...banshee?"

"Oh no, that won't work." Magellan piped in. "Far too overdone. It has to be something like...like a dullahan, maybe."

"A what?"

"I don't know...it's a spirit that rides about on a horse, wherever it wishes. I can only say people's names, and when it does, those people die shortly thereafter."

Mengsk chuckled. "That might work, if it says the right name. But we're not here to give a title to anything right now. We have to be able to plan on using new technology in battle to counter what the zerg thinks we are capable of. This will do nicely, but I believe you said you had another weapon to show me. Let's carry on."

"Yes sir."

They went to the rear of the chamber, exiting through a door opposite the entrance. A few more halls, a few more doors, and a turn to the left brought the three men to a large room, filled with a table, piles of equipment on the table, computers around the walls, and several non-operational spider mines that were opened up to display the inside for reconstruction.

"Spider mines have always been an effective land unit defense," Magellan began. "but for years we've been working on making them air effective also. One theory was to allow them to shoot lasers, but that just didn't turn out. It would require too many resources, and the mine has been meant for a cheap defense. However, with a moderate amount of thrust adaptations, we've been able to create a new kind of spider mine, one that attacks the air only. This innovation will be available if researched at a machine shop. Maybe later we'll have spider mines that attack both, but not yet."

"Ah, well, that should be interesting when put to the test," Mengsk said patiently. "but when are we going to be able to see these inventions tested? And how soon can they be put to use?"

"They can be tested now, sir. I've made special preparations just for your visit. We'll need to get away from New Oldham to a more empty area, but if you have more time to spare-"

"No, that isn't necessary. Test them as soon as possible yourselves and report immediately when you're done; I have strategy to take care of. Your budget will be doubled as soon as I return to my office. Keep up the good work, but I must attend to duty of my own."

Magellan nodded with a grin. Just as he began to lead the way back into the street, a sudden crash and electric sizzle alerted him. All three turned back to see a young engineer standing over a smoking piece of spider mine, thankfully not armed.

"Roberts, you fool!" Magellan exclaimed as he picked up the ruined mine and returned it to the table. "You don't connect the accelerator with the explosive-disarm manual control! How many times do I have to show you the wire system? It isn't that difficult!"

"Sorry sir. I just...I thought it was thrust, like you said..." the poor teenager stammered.

"Apparently it wasn't! Clean this up immediately and take this piece of junk to the recycling station. Then report back because you are going to keep working until you get it right!" As the boy went out the door with his failed spider mine, Magellan turned and grinned apologetically at his guests. "I'm very sorry, but I really have to deal with this situation right now. If Roberts doesn't get it right this time, I'll have to return him to janitorial duties."

"That is certainly understandable." Mengsk said, trying not to look at Alba when he spoke. "Good help these days is getting scarce. Don't worry about us, we can find our way out."

Francis thoughtfully mused over the situation as he followed behind his still speeding leader. "I kinda feel sorry for Magellan. Has to be around those little idiots all the time."

"Speaking of which..." Mengsk muttered solemnly.

"What was that, sir?"

"I'll need you to prepare a transport to take us directly to my office. Those blood-sucking reporters are probably all hustled out by the marines, but I don't want to take any chances. As soon as we get there, I'll need you to develop possible plans of action against the swarm, since my general doesn't seem to want his job. Contact the scout patrols for whatever information they have, then compile it and report to me. I want to be fully prepared."

"Prepared for what, sir?"

"Invasion, of course." the Emperor shook his head. "If we're ever going to defeat the Zerg, we'll have to finally attack. She's been in power too long, Alba. And I'm certain that Patriarch Artanis will come along. I know he's been fairly eager to let Kerrigan know that the Protoss are still a very strong threat to her rule. As soon as we discuss our next move, you'll need to have the Dominion Armada prepped and ready for the attack."

"Yes, sir."

\\\\\\\\

Author's Notes:

- I used to think that I was always a good writer...and then I read this chapter again...ugh. It's been edited up some, but the original version of this chapter...I feel a little weird about having posted it in the first place those years ago. In any case, this is a combination of my new and old chapters, as in my newer version I changed the units Magellan describes to better match what was going on with proposed Starcraft Ghost/Starcraft 2 units. Does anyone remember grizzlies? Apparently Blizzard didn't think they were good enough.

In any case, I'm going with original upgrades I made, mostly because a future battle chapter rests on them and I never finished the new version of that chapter. This is a bad excuse, but I really hate writing battle scenes.

- In this story, New Oldham is on Korhal. However, I have adjusted my universe and New Oldham is now city on Moria. Or else it's just two cities with the same name. It's named after Todd Oldham, a fashion designer. I had one of his shirts at the time, and it was the only time I've ever worn a shirt that was actually on a runway. Normally I don't care about that sort of thing, but the shirt had a really cool logo on it. The "New" obviously comes from some subtle irony. Heh, I'm easily amused.


	6. Into Deep

The Protoss are not lazy when it comes to new weapon technology. At a robotics facility at the Protoss city of Talematros, Judicator Namixis gazed continually out the window, looking below at a vast field. Five robotic caterpillar-like machines, known as reavers, scuttled along at their usual mild pace. A flock of kakarus soared above the field carelessly, not worried in the slightest about the robots on the ground. That is until one of them fired its psionic blast at the animals. A single shot from the phase disruptor paused a moment in front of its reaver, then flew steadily at the foremost kakaru. With a scream it and three other reptiles fell to the ground. The others scattered, only to meet their deaths with four subsequential blasts.

Namixis nodded solemnly. For the many years that reavers had existed, they were powerful fighters that could strike out an enemy base within minutes. Their phase disruptors had long been able to tear through buildings and shatter ground unit, but now, for the first time, they would attack air units. No more slowly shuffling away when mutalisks or wraiths shot them to pieces. While none of the Dark Templar approved of destroying harmless kakarus for testing, the Judicator didn't care very much. He couldn't provoke the Zerg into a fight by testing the reaver upgrade on them, and there was every reason not to strike against the Terrans. The upgrade had to be tested on something, and that meant eventually the target would have to be a living subject.

But for now, the testing was complete. The shuttles arrived from the east side of the field. As they loaded the shuttles, the robotic reavers beeped their mechanical compliance in almost a cheerful manner, as if reavers were capable of emotion. The Judicator turned away as the robots steadily crawled to their destination. He had to program the details of the testing into the computer, so that the reaver's upgrade could be put into the tech tree of the Protoss. And it had to be soon. Time would not wait for the warriors.

As Namixis began to compile the recorded information, he heard the door open. Instantly he recognised the psionic presence of Patriarch Artanis, who entered and looked out of the window for a moment. All he saw was the passing of the shuttles into the horizon. A little disappointed that he had missed the action, Artanis walked quietly up to Namixis. Peering over the Judicator's shoulder, the Patriarch glanced carefully at the data.

"Does it work?" Artanis asked.

"Yes. Perfectly." Namixis paused before asking, "What of Raynor? Will he come?"

"Yes, he has decided to come and free the defeated Directorate's Vice Admiral. With the nanotechnology in his capable hands, I do not doubt that Raynor can accomplish this. He should arrive within the next twenty-four hours for a full briefing."

"Very well."

The Judicator was not overfond of Artanis, nor any of the Dark Templar. He was one of the many who had turned away from their fallen brethren under the lead of the late Judicator Aldaris. Since then, his master and good friend (and almost a brother-in-law) had died because the gullible dark ones had allowed Kerrigan among them to steal their discernment and put the Matriarch Raszagal, thus subsequently the rest of them, on the leash of her evil will. Namixis could not yet forgive this treachery, despite that much of his useless hatred for his dark brethren had passed.

_Of course, _Namixis observed as the Patriarch approached him. _Artanis is not truly of the shadow Templar. It was the fate of battle that severed his nerve cords and cut him off from the Khala._

"Emperor Mengsk contacted the citadel today." Artanis sensing Namixis' trepidation, tried to start a conversation. "He is convinced the Zerg must be attacked in short time, before they can grow any stronger. If the actions on Aiur are any indication, it would seem that Kerrigan intends to follow through with her ultimate plans to our destruction."

"And the brethrens' infestation will certainly aid her to that end." Namixis noted. "It is a worry that troubles us all, for the emanations have become stronger these past days. Though I show you the readings now, it does not require complicated research to know that the thirteen are fading more quickly than ever expected. The dreams that call out across the stars reveal much to us." The Judicator pressed a few buttons on his computer console, bringing up his data on the infested thirteen.

"How much longer should they last?"

"It cannot be determined for certain. However, at this rate I expect that they have no more than a month. And very likely it may even be a shorter time. Given the inconstant nature of infestation, there is little possible way to predict their descent, except to say that it will be soon."

"Then we should ally ourselves with the Dominion and immediately prepare for battle. If our brethren can be saved before they fight against their own homeland, then it is all the better for us and them. I will speak again with Mengsk, for I have no doubt that he shall assist in this endeavor." Artanis determined.

"I recommend it. Now, the reaver upgrade should be available in two or three days for construction and battle. I shall see what I can do to hasten this process." Namixis, not interesting in talking anymore, began to walk away.

"Judicator, wait."

Namixis paused reluctantly, but did not turn to the Patriarch.

"I know all concerning what you believe about the Dark Templar. I know you think many of them are not so wise as the Khalai Protoss claim to be. You blame them for many things, and it is probable you stay only to prevent them from 'ruining their own chances for survival'."

The Judicator faced young Artanis. "The past must not be repeated."

"Yes, but even so I question your loyalty. Will you repeat the past and again rebel? Or will you stand with your brethren, including the 'dark' ones, to save our homeworld?"

"I will stand. I have sworn to protect my people, and I do not foolishly reject the Dark Templar. The Protoss may never fear my betrayal, for we must survive the Zerg together or face oblivion alone. I will stand." Namixis firmly repeated, offended that Artanis would suggest otherwise.

"Then will you accept my leadership, even though I wield Dark Templar energies?"

"Without fail I will accept it, but not without question."

"If that is all I can expect, I suppose it is enough." Artanis said quietly as he returned the data on the console screen.

This conversation irritated Namixis greatly. Never before had his motives been so openly mocked. Of course Artanis was right about his reasons for staying. The Dark Templar, having stayed in the shadows of the universe, did not quite possess the ability to handle situations of those who had long studied the mannerisms of all species. They could not be trusted to understand what the Protoss of Aiur had known for millenia, so Namixis believed.

Namixis paced toward the door, but turned back a moment in eagerness to obtain the last word and prove that he also was perceptive. "There is something else you must also remember, Artanis. I know what lies in your heart of hearts. You long again for the field of battle, to cast off your duties and return to the ways of the High Templar. But that is you no longer, for you have lost that life now for the way of the dark ones. Do not try to be a hero. And though you much desire and believe it, you are _not_ Tassadar. Stop pretending that you are."

Thus he stubbornly exited, leaving Artanis to ponder over his words. Indeed the Judicator was correct; there was no point in denying it. Long had Artanis admired Tassadar's sacrifice. This great Templar began the unity between the two divisions of the Protoss, started the process of making peace with the humans, and destroyed the foul Overmind in his very last battle. How could a warrior not envy the glorious life and death of Tassadar? Was he not now among the honored ancestors?

So presently Artanis, Praetor of the Protoss and Patriarch of the Dark Templar, envied the righteous history maker. The few years were nothing to diminish the memory and the regret of never meeting Tassadar in person, as well as the regret that he could not follow Tassadar into his heroism. Artanis had abandoned the ways of battle to tend to the duty of his authority and to the people who believed he could bring the Protoss to their former glorious position in the universe. He was made Patriarch for shared concern for the ways of the Khala and the Dark Templar path, and both groups trusted him. He couldn't fail that trust, so he was obligated to serve his position with humility, and without any rash desires to return to the struggles of war.

Once again Artanis turned to the information on the infested thirteen. The psionic levels fluctuated, but steadily grew less, at a rate so slow the Patriarch's eyes could not see distinctly. Silently he promised to save them, whatever it took. With a growing anger, he shut down the computer and hastened away. Time would not wait for the warriors, and Artanis would not wait for time.

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Author's Notes:

- I like this chapter. It's not much, but I just like how the characters bounce off each other here. Even though Namixis sounds kind of like a jerk in this chapter, he's usually a pretty cool guy, and isn't bigoted toward humans - he doesn't expect them to know any better.

- Due to my adjusted work schedule, updates are now going to be on Thursdays rather than Fridays. Cool? Cool.


	7. Airtight

Chapter Six:

"Take it easy, Admiral. Just let it all happen..."

"Raynor!" infested Stukov cried. "You...you poor simple child. You will never understand what I have lost. The clarity...gone..."

It was a single moment that dragged on forever, horrifying. The embodiment of Stukov's Zerg genes began to emphasize, growing more and more evident as they continued to fight the nanite restructuring routines. Spines grew, acid built up, and his skin dried beyond carapace, but only for a short time. Erasure began, and the infested features faded with each passing second. The monster blood was cleaned away from Stukov's veins, leaving behind a fully human Directorate officer, one who crumbled to the floor, pale.

"Admiral? Are you alright?" Raynor asked.

Suddenly Stukov gasped for air and sat up. Looking around, he was shocked to find a small gathering of Protoss and Terrans about him. A few marines returned this shocked look, amazed at his transformation. Next to them stood a medic, and she seemed satisfied with the retransformed soldier. A few Protoss zealots, a dragoon, and even a High Templar stood curious. Next to him was a gruff marine, one that seemed concerned and was offering a hand to help him up. Stukov, a bit confused, accepted the help.

Only a goliath was uninterested in the scene. The pilot had it facing away from the others, looking back down the corridor through which the rescuers had come. "Hey guys, I don't think them Zerg are gonna be happy about this. We'd best get a move on."

The truth crept up on his mind slowly, and he vaguely remembered everything. His memories of friends, his real friends, became clear. Thoughts of DuGalle, Duran, and the entire war against the Zerg returned to his thoughts. Foremost on his mind was his death, capture, and infestation. Instantly the files of his mind were up to date, and he recovered from his momentary stupor.

"Even now they begin to turn against me. We must leave. I know a way..."

"Alright. Let's get immediate evac." Raynor picked up his radio. "McCalla, have the dropships ready out there as soon as we're out of the building!"

"Already on their way, sir." the helpful lieutenant's voice crackled back. "Right now they're waitin' on you. The Protoss are already in position and ready to purify Braxis on your mark."

Stukov's path was a quick one, and the group of soldiers and warriors were off the surface of Braxis within five minutes. The fleet of dropships, escorted by Raynor's various aircraft, shot into the atmosphere and beyond. They passed by a group of Protoss ships, small, but deadlier than what it seemed. A beam of psionic energy shot out, smacking abruptly into the ground and shattering it, polluting its air and destroying any semblance of life or even continents. The gleaming golden vessels vanished from the crime scene under the cover of an arbiter as Braxis's annihilation continued. By the next day, it would be nothing more than a smoldering chunk of rock, cold and dead amongst the stars.

"Well done, Raynor." Artanis said respectfully through the computer monitor in the presently empty briefing room. "I knew you would be able to help us eliminate the cerebrate. It seems to have placed all its hope in Stukov, a tragic mistake on its part. Since there is no Overmind to reincarnate it, the cerebrate cannot return to strike against us. Now, tell me about the nanites. You said that they immediately deinfested Stukov, but are there any side affects?"

Raynor leaned back in his chair a bit before answering. "Well, physically, not too much to report. He seems normal, but the medics want to keep him under survelience for a while, cause we don't have the details or specifics right now. However, mentally, Stukov's not doing well. It's understandable considering how his fleet was destroyed to the last man, but he's really down."

Artanis nodded. "Now he understands what we in this sector have lost. If only the rest of the Earth Directorate could follow suit, then we might pull together long enough to rid ourselves of this threat, I hope."

"That all depends on what Admiral DuGalle managed to transmit back to his authorities before he and his got terminated. There's no telling what they're going to do when they, well, if they come back. But we can't expect miracles. Anyway, I think Stukov'll just hang with us for a while. It's not like there's anywhere else he can go. I'll have my boys transmit the data specifics back to your guys."

"Very well. But what of the Zerg? Now that they are beginning to stir again, I fear that open war is upon us, and that we are not readily prepared for whatever onslaught they have planned. Mengsk has offered the Protoss his aid to scour the infestation, but even our forces combined will be far short in comparision to the swarm's number. We will have the need to attack them prior-"

"Hey, slow down." Raynor started. "What's that about Mengsk? You allied with _him_?"

"Yes. However foolish he has been in the past, it is in all of our best interests that we present a united front against the Zerg. Simply for survival's sake we have chosen alliance. I do not see another way to survive."

"But you can't trust Arcturus! He'll screw you over in a second once he's through with you. You know that as good as I do, Artanis. I can't believe this...are times that desperate?"

"The Mengsk I have spoken with is not the same of old, not quite, anyway. He is humbled from the past tribulations and hopes to mend his own errors, if his current behavior is proof of anything. Besides, even if he is as selfish as before, he cannot be emperor of his dominion if Kerrigan kills us all. Indeed, times are more than that desperate. Sooner or later, Kerrigan will attempt to slay all those that remain in the way of her rule, and that means the end of either us or her. And well, speaking of a unified front, I was hoping that we could expect more of the Raiders in upcoming incursions."

Raynor grimly smiled, shaking his head slightly. "I don't think so, man. We've got other missions in mind now. Plus, working with Mengsk on a constant basis is definitely not something I could put up with for long. None of mine are up for that again either. Is there still any way I can talk you out of it?"

"I am afraid not. We need allies more in this dark day than any time I have known, or can see needing in the future. Mengsk will not now betray us, for our motives of survival and restored civilization are his as well. Be at peace on this matter. Do you not trust that I and my brethren can see through to his will?"

"I don't know... Just be careful what you say around him."

"Of course." Artanis settled back in his chair. "Well, Raynor, I am disappointed that you will not join the effort, but perhaps it is for the best. I hope to see you soon upon the battlefield."

"You will, Artanis, you will."

Raynor shut down the transmission, brushing back a few stray hairs that lingered on his forehead. With the brilliance of the screen gone, the room darkened somewhat, looking mildly eerie in the shimmering starlight that filtered in the port windows. James, awed somewhat by the sight, felt no desire to leave the room at that moment. He just leaned in on his hands and dully stared into space. Figurative space, not literal.

So, Artanis's Templar were going to fight alongside Mengsk's Armada. The thought was hardly a pleasant one in Raynor's mind. If Mengsk just once screwed things up like he did on Tarsonis, there goes everyone's efforts to set the universe straight. The idea of Mengsk taking unfair advantage of the Protoss made the Captain cringe. No doubt the 'emperor' would try and get Protoss technology and adapt it to his own mechanics, or possibly try and get them to train more psionically able humans to peak conditions. Arcturus was certainly capable of charismatic influence, if Artanis couldn't see through his little song and dance. Raynor tried to convince himself that his worrying was for nothing, but he couldn't get the matter out of his mind.

So Mengsk and Artanis were trying to kill Sarah Kerrigan. Sarah Kerrigan. Sarah. She was the girl of his dreams; she is the stuff of his nightmares. And all was in a handbasket, heading down to hell.

James's voice echoed in the empty conference room. "I really need a beer."

-t-

The cerebrate felt very overworked. With all of the chrysalises seperated, it meant that he had to make sure each one was heavily defended. And they weren't just seperated over a few miles; Kerrigan had made sure that each little cuccoon was oceans away from any contact with each other. The cerebrate cringed, remembering how many of his enemies flocked in response to Kerrigan's infestation. If the same thing happened, it meant that he would have to hold them off alone. The queen wasn't the strategist he was.

But it was just idle complaint, and the cerebrate knew that. There was no way in the universe that the broken Protoss and the battered Terrans were going to be able to afford that kind of campaign. Oh, they would attack, doubtlessly, but not in all thirteen places at once. And they knew, the Zerg couldn't hide it from them, that most of the swarm was now going to Aiur in preparation for the event. They knew better than to underestimate the power of the swarm, if they knew nothing else.

Besides that, the cerebrate had been spawned to care for infestees, so it might as well do its job without complaint. Kerrigan wouldn't listen anyway. She was doing what she always did: brood over the future. It annoyed the cerebrate, because that meant she would be walking alone all day with no desire for interruptions. However, it did seem she made good decisions when she came back. Sighing, the cerebrate went back to work, surveying the protection around the chrysalises, noticing that Elihur needed more spore colonies. Three drones crept away to perform their expected mutations.

Meanwhile, Kerrigan was about a mile away, at the seacoast. It was very pretty that time of day. The sun gleamed brightly, and there were no clouds within sight. The giant waves, typical of Aiur, crashed against the rocky cliffside again and again, slowly washing sediments into its beautiful blue deep. A surfer would have to be very daring (stupid) if he wanted to try and catch those waves. The white foam splashed Kerrigan as she walked unnecesarily close to the edge, a cool relief from the midday sun. She wasn't thinking about the ocean, despite how she stared out into its distance.

_I can't do it..._

Kerrigan was referring to Raynor. Her Jimmy.

_I can't infest him...he has to die._

She shuddered at the thought. As she realized her reaction, Kerrigan tightened a fist.

_Don't think like that!_ she scolded herself. _You see what kind of control Jim...no, don't say his name...that captain has over you? As long as you let yourself care about him, you're under him and that will manipulate you. Even if he is infested...I will still care. I don't know if these emotions can ever really go, but Raynor can. Once he's dead I can focus on my real priorities._

Zeratul returned to her thoughts, Raynor momentarily forgotten. The Dark Templar hadn't made any progress for a few days in the study. At the very least he would know when everything started, a comfort to the Queen of Blades. There would be plenty of warning. She thought of Duran, the man who betrayed her when it left her most vulnerable to her enemies. Her destruction probably was not specifically part of his plans, but he would nevertheless pay for it. Unlike his suspicions, his good queen Kerrigan had survived the battle of the three fleets and would be waiting for him, once his little minions came.

Her thoughts wandered.

_But I can't let Jim know what I'm planning...I'll let him think I'm going to infest him. I won't be, though...I won't. If James ever comes against me, I'll destroy him then. Right now I just have far too much to focus on to persue him. Artanis and Mengsk will be coming soon, and Aiur isn't quite ready yet. Yet. With my little trick, Raynor will be sure to come. Then all of this will end. I have to be in charge of myself if I will ever truly rule this sector._

As Sarah though this, she noted that she was staring down the cliffside. It was almost a straight vertical drop, but every so often a rock or precipice would jut out. Below, in the most shallow bit of water, were several sharp rocks, visible when the waters pulled back into themselves. If anyone took a tumble down it, they would be cut, then shattered to pieces for none but the fish and the birds to recover. Kerrigan stepped back, beginning to wish that she had real wings instead of just her dorsal claws.

-t-

Alexei Stukov sat alone at the bar in Hyperion's canteen, thoughtfully gazing around at the other patrons as he nursed a mug of beer. Besides himself, there were about ten others in the room, all talking amongst themselves over plates of today's special: beef stew. To Stukov it didn't seem very appetizing, but the Raiders seemed to at least tolerate it. Stukov wasn't hungry anyway, and hadn't been since he was deinfested. All he wanted was a decent vodka, something fairly unheard of among Raynor's men.

Metz beer. Alexei looked disapprovingly at his own mug, noting the amber color and sweet aftertaste. Metz was the most popular alcohol in the Koprulu Sector, and probably a good brand of beer, as far as beer went. But for Stukov it was only good for a depressing buzz.

"Hey Chaps," Stukov called the bartender. "Do you have anything stronger than Metz back there? Some whiskey perhaps?"

"Well," replied the gruff fellow, obviously a civilian rather than the experienced soldiers that comprised the majority of the Raiders. "I could fix you up a little somethin' ah brews myself. T'ain't that dignified stuff like ya might be used to, but it's decent for killin' cells, so they say."

"Make it two, Chaps." said Raynor as he plopped down in the next stool. "A man always needs a shot of something hard when he's got to be on duty soon."

"Yessir, comin' up."

Two shot glasses informally clinked in front of the drinkers. A clear plastic jug was heaved from under the bar, and its ripped label showed that it once held some cleaning product before Chaps distilled his stuff. Thick yellow-brown liquid filled the glasses, looking rather unappetizing and reeking of potatoes, as well as other chemicals that probably weren't meant for consumption. Stukov prefered not to let his curiosity wander thinking what these other substances might be.

Raynor downed it without giving the senses a second thought, or even a chance. Stukov was more apprehensive. He stared at it and held the glass aloft like a rare yet ugly bird specimen. With each passing second it looked more and more disgusting. Sighing, Alexei downed the putrid stuff. Immediately his throat caught on fire, his bowels roared angrily, while his mind drifted into numbness. A lesser alcoholic would have coughed and gagged, but Stukov just held his eyes shut until the shock passed.

Clearing his throat with a little cough, Alexei spoke up sullenly. "Ah...that does the trick. Leave the jug."

"I guess so, but y'know it ain't so good to drink all that much of the stuff..."

"What do I have to lose? Leave it."

"I ain't your pappy."

The former Vice Admiral poured himself another shot, ignoring Raynor. He wished Jim would go away and leave him to his problems. Stukov usually drank alone, or with Admiral DuGalle. However, since one of those options was dead and gone, Stukov was left with only the other. Raynor just sat there quietly, not saying a word as he put down more of Chap's stuff shot by shot, but it still irritated the Vice Admiral unbearably. He tried to maintain control while still getting Raynor to leave.

"Hm." Stukov lazily reached for the stuff and shoved his shot glass forward to pour. "I thought you were going on duty soon."

"I am. I just need another shot or two." Raynor sighed, not taking the hint as the alcohol started loosening his lips. "This is the hard part. I've got to decide our next move. Now that Artanis and Mengsk are allied, we can't get help from them. For one, we can't trust Mengsk, and neither can Artanis, if he would only see that. Another reason is she's watching them already, and she'll know where we are if we join in."

"Kaloth, that cerebrate who infested me," Stukov slowly began, replacing the jug on the bar. "Provided me with information about Kerrigan's background, and there was some hope in that. In her past she was trained as a ghost, and however deadly the ghosts are, they are meant for special operation missions with highly intellegent comrades and all the most modern equipment. They have little expertise on mass strategy. That is her main drawback. To operate on the field, she uses her one loyal cerebrate, who is in command as a general. Without it, Kerrigan would be forced not only to rely on whatever strategy she may have learned, but to control her broods alone." Without another word the shot went down, more smoothly but not less violent then before. "Ah, Chaps, what do you call this?"

"That's my specialty known as Daddy's Beatin' Belt, got it straight from my own Paps. T'aint another drink stronger'n it, and that's the drink that got me landed in jail. I ended up alright, so I guess it's lucky." Chaps leaned forward. "But now 'bout Kerry. What else ya' got on 'er?"

"Well, apparently the Overmind wanted her to control the swarms with fear, or something like that. An inspiration to the swarm. She wasn't intended to have so much control over the swarm, at first. Only one cerebrate guessed what she would become, and that cerebrate is long dead. Right now Kerrigan has control of the majority of the Zerg, and a few cerebrates control the rest. Daggoth, Araq...I don't remember all them. Those are the ones alive right now, but they are being quickly wiped out. They thought I could do something, but I don't know why. I'm not a ghost."

"That would be why she wanted the Protoss, to make sure we couldn't just kill her and be done with it. She wants a replacement." Raynor sighed again, pushing away his glass. "I should go now. Stukov, we'll talk later about those cerebrates."

"Oh no you don't." Hanna Reiges pulled up a chair at the bar on the other side of Stukov. "How long's it been since you got some sleep, like thirty hours ago? You should be gettin' to bed. I think we'd all be a little better off if our Captain were sober and rested. Go on now. McCalla can maintain for a bit, then I'll go take over. You know the boy's been itchin' for more command."

"Sounds like you are." James gave a withered smile, then downed another shot. It was obvious he wasn't feeling stubborn about it. "Alright, I'll go."

Then he walked off morosely, hoping that he was drunk enough not to have those dreams again. As if reading his mind, Hanna tapped him on the shoulder and held out a can of Metz.

"Thanks."

"Go on, now...sir."

Raynor smiled a bit before turning away again and taking his leave. Much to Stukov's annoyance, Hanna sat back down beside him and tried to start up a conversation.

"Ah man, Jim's takin' this bad. Now that all them dudes are being infested, it's like there's thirteen more Kerrigans comin'. Thank God we're doing something about it now. All that waitin' weren't good for nobody."

Stukov, while still hesitant to say anything, began to think of revenge. Like a tiny fire on a frozen slope, it was a cheery idea, the first since he first reentered humanity. A wee bit more relaxed, Stukov lte himself think of the Admiral and all of his old friends from the expedition force that fought with him, and how good it would feel to see Kerrigan dead for it. As the contented bitterness rose up in him, it felt polite to carry on his half of the conversation. But all he could muster was a deep sigh and a gloomy look towards the floor.

Reiges peered at his drink. "Chaps, what's this crap you been giving this guy? DBB?"

"Yes ma'am, and I'd 'ppreciate it very much if ya wouldn't talk about my pap's stuff that way."

"Eh, whatever...sorry." Hanna quickly added, knowing that it was better not to get you bartender upset, especially not Chaps Benson. "Look, you go the good stuff down in there. Bring some out for the V-A now."

Chaps leaned in and muttered, "You know I don't just pull it out. It don't go on tab neither, ya pays up front with the cold, hard cash ya got for it."

"Yeah, yeah, I know the drill." She slapped some folded bills on the table. "Just make it two shots, and we'll see from there.

Benson folded his arms. "That ain't no way fo' a young lady such as yourself to speak to an elder."

"Alright, please get the stuff. And you can count the money, y'know, it's all there. Since when did I try and short ya?"

"Lady, yo momma didn't teach you very good manners."

In no rush, Chaps produced two small glasses, hectagonal and unmarked. He always did use the best glasses for the best alcohol. And it was definitely the best, as Stukov easily noticed when the bottle was brought over the counter. It was genuine vodka, seal tight in the thick, never-opened glass container. The label was old and peeling to the point where it could no longer be read, but the crystal clear liquid still shone gladly in the synthetic light. An old corkscrew on a grey block of wood stuck itself in the cork, an obviously unworthy tool for the job. However, anything that let the precious brew out of its prison was good enough.

"What year is that?"

"Twenny' three nine eighty, sho' nuff. Daddy said it was brought over to the K-Sector right on the ship _Reagan_, when those imperials shoved us out into space. Been keepin' lotsa bottles since then, never you mind the exact number, and I makes sure this stuff stays safe. Now, this ain't the best of the best of 'em, to be sure, but that's for special occasions." Without another word, Benson poured the shots and carefully replaced the cork. "Now, I'm not so sure how it's gonna taste after all that time, cause it's mighty old 'n all. That's for you to find out."

Stukov barely paid any attention to his warning; he couldn't wait any longer. So he immediately took the glass in his hand, not expecting when Hanna spoke up. The rim was halfway to his lips before she managed her interruption.

"What should we drink to?"

Alexei paused a minute, handling his ambrosia studiously. "To the death of Kerrigan, and a Zerg-free universe."

"Hold on." Chaps pulled out another shot glass. "If that's what you're drinkin' to, I'm drinkin' with you."

"Huh, everbody drinks to it nowadays." Reiges commented.

"Then one more won't hurt nothin'."

Pouring once more, Chaps joined in and the glasses clinked merrily. The vodka famine Stukov had experienced only intensified the immense moment of bliss, and it was automatically the most flavorful and delicious vodka he'd ever tasted, whether it really was the best quality or not. Yet with the beautiful rush came an onslaught of memory. His wife, his children growing into middle age...his oldest had just been married two days before the expedition fleet departed for the Koprullu Sector. The man probably already had kids of his own by now. Sighing, Stukov began to think of Admiral DuGalle again. Without even noticing, he said something out loud.

"You need a gun?" Reiges responded. "Of course you do. And you'll get it, no worries there. Just come on down to the armory tomorrow and McMillian'll have somethin' special all ready for ya. Jim already gave the orders. Well," she stood up. "I better go take over for McCalla. Boy gets weird when he's waitin' for somebody. Never was a patient guy." Shaking her head, she started for the door. Then Reiges turned back and left a crumbled bill on the counter. "Oh hey, Chaps, you get Stukov here another shot of that before you lock it up, okay? Put anythin' left over towards my tab."

"Ma'am..."

"Right, right..." Reiges dug into her pockets and pulled out a few more credits before turning to the door.

"Thank you, Lieutenant." Stukov politely raised his alcohol to her.

"Aw, you're welcome. And call me Hanna." she said, smiling as she departed.

"Hm, she isn't a bad looking woman. A little short, perhaps, but very nice."

Chaps issued an abrupt "hunh" which seemed to be a laugh. "You thinkin' of messin' with Reiges? Just about the oddest thing I heard of."

He continued to chortle to himself, but the Vice Admiral didn't pay attention. Instead his attention wandered to four soldiers playing poker. One of them raised the pot, and someone else folded. Stukov wished that he had money enough to join them.

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Author's Notes:

- Well, it's about dang time that I had a long chapter. The bar scene with Stukov wasn't in the original version of this story, but I added it later on when I realized that even though I had brought the guy back, he wasn't doing anything. Now that I look at it...this is so emo. In any case, I've probably got the year wrong on when the _Reagan_ made it to the K Sector, and I have no clue if vodka has good years like wine does. Sue me.


	8. Bullet In A Gun

Two large fleets waited. All manner of Terran air units filled the void; battlecruisers, dullahans, wraiths, valkeries, and the dropships with ground units waited alongside the Protoss carriers, scouts, corsairs, and shuttles. None made a move, but silently stayed in formation on the outskirts of the Aiuran solar system. They awaited patiently the command from their officers.

"Emperor," Artanis signalled. "My forces are ready for battle."

"As are mine." Mengsk replied. "Let's do this."

-t-

Their destination was a piece of the swarm located on the southern hemisphere, a place the warriors used to call Haitar. It long stood as an economic center of the Protoss culture, rich in minerals, vespene, and Khalai workers as noble as Templar, as willing to sacrifice themselves in the mines and geysers as their warriors on the battlefield. But after much time, the once prosperous Haitar was now covered in creep and more Zerg than could be counted. Now all Haitar stood for was the many greater spires that produced the Zerg flyers expected to attack the allies.

This location on Aiur wasn't chosen because it was easily conquerable, but for the presence of a vital unit, the chrysalis of one of the archons being infested. The power of an archon is great, and if Kerrigan could possibly harvest this power, there would be no end to what she could accomplish. No one was agreeable to letting one fall into her hands. The quiet zealots and dragoons in their shuttles hoped to avenge the lost Haitar, expecting their bravery, strength, and technology to carry them through. They had high hopes for the new reavers, and gladly they accepted the help of the Terrans and their new technology.

The cloaked air units came nearer and nearer, an odd barrage of barely visible wavering light dotted every so often by an arbiter. Observers surrounded them, several light years' distance from each flank, all carefully picking up information from their surroundings. No sign of enemy presense. But as they neared the forsaken planet, their computers recieved pictures of the forsaken planet. It was a disgusting purplish-grey, interrupted by the cold blue of Aiur's oceanic depths. The anger of the accompanying Protoss grew, and many a silent curse was placed on the swarm.

Somewhere out in the distance they detected an explosion. One of the observers was gone.

It was less than five minutes later when a full onslaught of the swarm arrived to beat down their threat. The devourers hurled acid spores on at a steady pace, crippling the forerunners of the fleets. Charging ahead, the valkeries and the corsairs deftly went to stop these Zerg, more than a few of them hurling their debris to the stars. The carriers, protected by wraiths, valkeries, and corsairs, began to distract the Zerg forces while the battlecruisers and scouts plowed through the upcoming waves of mutalisks and escorted the shuttles and dropships to the surface.

With glave wurms flying left and right, the valkeries swiftly dodged around, pummelling away. Squadrons of eight circled and shifted into the growing mutalisk force, scattering them. Corsairs flew in to finish them off. Faced with a mighty resistance, the Zerg fell into a frenzy. The mutalisk spores bounced from corsair to corsair, crippling vital systems and steadily destroying the vessels with devastating explosions that reached the valkeries. As the explosions and ferocious Zerg screams continued their crescendo, carrier reinforcements began to move in. Interceptors bolstered the attack and finally signalled the end of the mutalisk waves.

"Don't get comfortable yet." A wraith commander notified everyone. "The devourers are returning for more."

And so they were. Battlecruisers formed ranks ahead, creating a net formation to resist the charging monsters ahead of them. Simultaneously the cruisers charged their yamato cannons. However, the devourers were already in range and firing their spores. While the wraiths, corsairs, and other smaller ships shot their missiles and lasers from the gaps in the battlecruiser formation, the devourers were relentless and persisted in destruction. Several cruisers never completed the cannon charge. Many were slowly destroyed as the acid build-up crept slowly through each hull, cutting through weapons, navigations, and finally life support. One ship, covered in nine spores and counting, could no longer withstand the dissolving liquid. Three wraiths and a corsair fell in the blast.

Finally the yamato cannons fired, creating a huge, roaring wave. The foremost Zerg fell back, immediately dead. In that instant the wraiths and scouts charged in for the assault. Carriers flew in just behind, and they quickly engaged the swarm as the dropships and shuttles began to pass through.

"Beginning deployment procedures." Magellan said as his science vessel flew behind the wraiths. "Dividing into primary and secondary encampments."

With that order, the Protoss and Terrans began to separate. While the Zerg forces were momentarily stunned, the allies charged downwards and found Aiur's surface, clearing out a predetermined area for setting up their base of operations. Battlecruisers fired constantly, destroying the violent spore colonies and hatcheries that spawned growing amounts of hydralisks. There the Terrans began to set up, quickly settling in as the creep dissolved. They would fend off the Zerg from the south-west hive cluster.

Several corsairs flew through the destruction, and each initiated its disruption charge on another small Zerg base. Small fields of psionic mass numbed the creatures and spore colonies under it, rendering them unable to attack. From without they were destroyed, and the many zealots and dragoons held back the defenders while the probes warped in their various buildings and reserves. The Protoss would be the ones to retrieve the archon, aided by Magellan, who was arriving with the last of the shuttles and irradiating the resistant groups of zerglings while his computer systems began scanning.

"Alright, the archon Nellek-Seivad is located just about due north from our current position." Magellan told Enyidar, the Protoss commander. "There is a wide canyon from here to there, filled with all manner of burrowing Zerg, most likely. Outlying hive clusters are on both sides, and another brood altogether guards the chrysalis itself."

"Hm, then it seems that Kerrigan would wish us to seek the chrysalis," Enyidar considered. "Then trap us on the field. I would not put it above her to do so. Nevertheless, we have much to determine in our strategy. A distraction must be prepared for against one or both of the side broods, while the main force applies itself to the last. We need not destroy them, for I am certain Kerrigan could replace their number more quickly than we could eliminate them. All we must do is take the chrysalis and retreat. Though it grieves me much, I am afraid that today is not the day Aiur is to be saved."

-t-

High on up on a cliff, the spore colonies had an excellent view of the landscape. Though there wasn't much to see on the weary landscape, the position was a good spot from which to overlook the surrounding area. It's anyone's guess as to how those things saw anything, but they did, peacefully jiggling, gurgling, and living off of the creep like the little unquestioning stumps that they were. To the north, their own allies lay. Some hydralisk were comfortably burrowed underground, and some zerglings further off and nearer to the hive. Three guardians were joining the rest of their number at the east side of the mountain pass, or plateau pass, technically speaking. The west side was scattered with various sunken colonies, and below the cliff were more burrowed hydralisks and zerglings, as well as a few lurkers, watching and waiting. The spore colonies were too far south to see what was ground level on the west, but they knew the lurkers were there.

They didn't have to see it anyway. Right now their mission was south, were the Protoss had set up their invasion. Naughty little Protoss, the living buildings thought, it isn't nice for them to attack their hive cluster. They must be destroyed. For the swarm. For the Queen. But they couldn't see any activity in the south, so they kept their acid to themselves.

What's this? The overlords seemed to have noticed something. Oh yes, they have longer vision, better eyes. Five devourers were arriving within the cluster of spore colonies to stop something, but they didn't leave the protection of the base. Something was coming this way. _No need to rush._

Ten shuttles, three carriers, several corsairs and a couple of scouts came through, waiting for the brown stain of dead grass to become the purplish-grey stain of the creep. Silly Protoss, that won't do much good against the Zerg, now will it? The aircraft passed over them, but not without recieving many blasts from the enemy below. The devourers began to throw their acid spores out at the carriers, blasting into the larger craft and sending down a shrapnel rain. The colonies helped destroy two of them, but an urgent order stopped the attack. Their order was to destroy the shuttles before they let loose their army of zealots and dragoons.

It was mostly too late. By the time they got the spore colonies received their order, the shuttles were already in position and depositing. One blew up after leaving only one dragoon on the ground, but there was no time to celebrate this. The reavers were there. The reavers. It was the only kind of enemy that really made their skin crawl, as far as the Protoss went. Reavers could always be expected to push right through Zerg defenses and annihilate the buildings with little trouble. Zerglings were killed by the half-dozen, and even hydralisks could little withstand them. And spore colonies were defenseless against them.

Surprisingly enough, they didn't go after the spore colonies. With a great horror and shock to the living buildings, they began to eat into the devourers, taking them out in only three blasts. Not counting splash damage. Even below the spore colonies could feel the shockwaves boring into them and bursting blood vessels into open air.

The guardians! They left their easternmost position and began their attack, thankfully still having a longer range. Distracted from the flyers, it wasn't long before the zerglings were able to safely charge and start putting an end to the mechanical threat. Or it seemed that way at first. There was an odd confusion amongst the zerglings. As they were running, some of them turned the course and snarled at thin air, confused, in much pain, and wondering why they were suddenly bleeding. What happened to all of the overlords? Were they destroyed so soon? The air battle was too confusing to sort out, but the spore colonies could see. This was their advantage.

Dark Templar! Instantly the signal went out. The playing field was again in the Zerg's favor, and victory was at hand. The flood of zerglings, hydralisks, and all the lurkers made sure that none of the ground units made it out alive. The shuttles were already destroyed anyway, so escape wasn't an option. Whatever air units left to the Protoss fled away, chased by a reserve flight of mutalisks. The surviving spore colonies weren't concerned with that anyway. They were very happy because all the icky 'Toss were gone away.

From their sight, anyway. They couldn't see the eastern pass, where the three arbiters had long passed into Zerg territory. The guardians had left their post, and the overlords were either dead or coming to patrol were the fallen ones used to. Everyone had been a little too busy to notice that their borders were penetrated, and their local goal was in serious jepoardy.

-t-

Before the Zerg knew it, warriors were closing in on Nellek-Seivad's position. The outlying swarm defenses were already being severly hacked into by the reavers, and zealots were annihilating the zergling resistance. Two dropships warped in, immediately depositing a squad of vindicators, who raised their wapons to join the charge. Those psionic blasts, along with the dragoons', filled the air with death as a crew of mutalisks tried to stay the damage. A pylon and sheild generator were already prepared and warped in, providing constant shielding for the warriors as they fought.

Soon enough there was a momentary lull in the battle, once the mobile Zerg retreating and their living buildings were destroyed. Immediately the Protoss set themselves up in a defensive position around the archon for quick recovery. The probes wasted no time in hurrying over to the chrysalis, ignoring every sound or sight otherwise, including their own doom. They didn't notice when shadows fell over them to the sound of dying Templar, but were only aware just a moment before their mechanical parts rudely littered the ground.

The murderer was a huge new zerg, a flying unit. It was more than twice as fat as a mutalisk; its body jiggled frighteningly. Imagine two rounded eyes at the top of an incredibly fat worm, a large and long mouth filled with foully gleaming, sharper than razor teeth, and two huge purple wings flapping furiously to prevent the obese beast from hitting the ground. A short, swinging tail circled about below it, and a strange abdominal opening flung its acrid liquid at the poor ground soldiers. At the same time, two tubules at the sides of its mouth blasted acid at the air support.

_At the same time._

"Magellan!" Enyidar exclaimed. "Go quickly!"

"On my way!"

The science vessel, escorted by two more of its type, rushed in. The pair began irradiating the massive fat things, while Magellan himself injected the chrysalis with nanites and activated defensive shield around it.

"It's ready!" the cyborg announced. "Get us out of here!"

This was already in progress as Magellan spoke. A shuttle immediately pick up Nellek-Seivad and an instant later was recalled to the Protoss base. Other warriors followed suit, firing or slashing behind them to prevent from being swept up in the oncoming hydralisk rush. Fortunately, most had escaped by the time the arbiter shattered in the sky.

A lone zealot was now trapped behind the forces of the enemy. Intently he gazed at his broken weapons, knowing that they would no longer produce psi blades. None of the Zerg attacked him, and he knew too well why. Honest escape was unachievable. Several drones had gathered, and jumping all over him, clawing his neck and limbs in an attempt to keep him still. The zealot struggled, but there were simply too many drones for him to get away. Though the many claws bit deeply into his skin, he struggled against them in an attempt to cut his own throat. It did not work, the drones merely threw him against the bones of a long fallen overlord, stunning him. The brave zealot tried to overcome his dizziness and run, but by this time the captors had already returned to hold him down. The warrior gave in to despair, finally too exhausted to hope.

Hope was restored, however, with the growing pain in his midsection that threatened to rip him apart. A remaining Terran science vessel had irradiated him, preserving him for the Khala's end. Thus saved, the zealot did not so much mind exploding to his death, so long as the drones about him would also fall. His wish was granted with the blue flash that symbolized the death of a warrior and the simultaneous green explosion that symbolized the reaction of the radiation. But the science vessel's mercy required more than it could pay, for the strange new creatures of the swarm saw to its destruction shortly, and its remains piled upon the torn and poisoned drone corpses.

-t-

On one of the shuttles, their doctors immediately began scanning and gathering data from the chrysalis, studying as the affect of the nanites began to take hold. However, things did not seem to be going as smoothly for Nellek-Seivad as with Stukov. The progress was going slower, and instead of progressing through several stages to return to normal, the chrysalis's shell began to harden and peel. The archon's vital signs began to fade away, and the surrounding Protoss could feel his moans of pain echo in their minds.

"Quickly administer the life support!" one ordered. "If we can get him stabilized and away from here, perhaps we can save him."

-t-

Outside, the Protoss warriors were in the same state of frenzy. The new Zerg, accompanied by their other flyers, were setting into the Protoss base furiously. Photon cannons served to destract the enemy while the firstborn hastily escaped, but not for long. The loaded shuttles, guarded by a fleet of corsairs, were hard pressed to outrun the dangerous atmosphere. Many were crippled by the powerful acidic enemy spines as the corsairs' and scouts' positions behind them weakened. With desparate timing the Terrans suddenly arrived Valkeries and wraiths pummelled through to the front line, while grizzlies prepared to help the shuttles.

Enyidar signalled Akeroyd's battle cruiser. " The Zerg will not relent until we have gone. Prepare the retreat!"

Irked that an insolent Protoss decided his actions for him, John nevertheless responded. "Yeah, things sure look that way up here too. You got the archon?"

"Yes and he is already injected with the nanite serum. We must hurry to remove him."

"Alright, let's get goin' then. Hurry it up!"

Still at the mercy of the opposing Zerg forces, the humans were quick to cruise over to rescue the persued Protoss. But as the Aiuran race pulled out of their position, the Zerg began to fall away. Both fleeing races began to notice that the chasers were lessening, turning from the persuit to erase any sign that these Protoss and Terrans had ever landed or set base on Aiur. As soon as these enemies had gone from Aiur's most distant atmosphere, the Zerg had turned away their attentions and gone to other business, though some remained warily in the distance just in case a regroup was in order.

As they pulled out to assess the situation, Enyidar signalled Nellek-Seivad's shuttle.

"Report," he ordered the scientists. "How fares the archon?"

"Not at all. For reasons we have not yet been able to determine, Nellek-Seivad did not survive his injection."

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Author's Notes:

- Ugh. Battle chapters. It's chapters like this that make me question my reasoning for reposting this story. Just as a reminder, this was originally written several years ago, and I have improved! It would be logical not to post this story at all, but...eh, I sort of like it. It's like a piece of my past. This is how I learned to write, by playing around with words. Nobody can teach you to write. You just have to pick it up by experience.

In any case, you should clearly get the idea that writing big battle scenes isn't that fun. Or heck, maybe you think I did decently. Let me know which, if you don't mind.


	9. Darker 'Reset the Brakes Mix'

"Absolute and utter failure!" Major Alba exclaimed. "Our preparation and strategy has come to nothin', the archon was destroyed, and likely other Protoss are now bein' made ready for the swarm! Whose idea was this nonsense fight anyway?"

The others, Mensk and Artanis, were not inclined to disagree. The three, plus Mensk's bodyguards and a few Templar, walked about the large halls of the citadel on Shakuras, going over the results of the fight on Aiur. Alba was furiously going on about obvious things, more complaining than talking. Artanis found it irritating to pay attention, but was more frustrated with his inability to help Aiur than anything else.

Mengsk was unusually quiet, his growing trend of late. Instead the Emperor stared from the citadel windows at the Protoss below, who were single-mindedly constructing defenses for this city of Telamatros. The desert sand in the distance signalled a storm that evening, but Arcturus did not pay it mind. Besides the fact he did not like to think while telepathic aliens were around, he also restrained his mind from wondering depressing matters. And the desert depressed him, for one reason or another, as well as the fact he had not seen General Akeroyd in more than a week. This meant more time spent with the ever annoying Alba, and Mengsk was not pleased with that idea.

"Major," Artanis began. "None of the Protoss involved in the past battle have become infested. They are all acounted for. Nonetheless, twelve is more than enough to present a threat. Nor was this battle a complete failure. There is one less archon that could join the swarm."

"Hm, well that's optimism." Alba hmphed. "But hardly a victory. Too many good men died out there, and for what? Fighting to save your home planet for you. What a freakin' waste!"

"Not only that, but to save your Dominion from what could be the strongest threat to it! You know the power of the swarm would be unlimited with Protoss enlisted on their side." Artanis said, amazed at Alba's rashness.

"So we can't defend ourselves from a few Toss..."

_"Oh damn. Damn!" _Mengsk thought, not even caring if the Protoss heard._ "What is this moron trying to do? As soon as we go, he's fired."_

"...Just 'cause they're some Zerg..."

"That's enough, Alba." Mengsk patiently said.

"But-"

"That's _enough_. Now," Mengsk turned to Artanis. "You said there's another archon still in captivity. Who is it?"

"Kholus-Adnarim. He has not been seen in years, due to his work on Aiur after the Overmind fell. It is expected he will be more powerful than Kerrigan, when he emerges the chrysalis."

"One might think he would challenge her will."

"It is doubtful. Kerrigan knows from her own transfiguration that she must suppress the spirit of those she infests. The twelve would have no more soul than an infested Terran, and be many times more deadly."

Alba started to comment on the apparent racism of the remark, but Mengsk stopped him with a look. The Major silenced grumpily.

"While our options are limited," Artanis continued. "It is not only the zerg on Aiur that present a problem. What are the rest of the swarm in the Korprulu sector doing? We cannot expect them to merely ignore us."

"Of course not," Mengsk said. "but it seems a good deal of them are traveling to Aiur, for the purpose of defending it. They want to hold on to it, for some reason. However, until their strength is restored elsewhere, for a time they will be vunerable outside of Aiur."

"So it remains that we can either continue the futile attempts to save or destroy the remaining infested Protoss, or we can seek to destroy the swarm elsewhere, hoping to complete this endeavor to weaken their stance in the universe while the warriors remain in the Zerg's slavery."

"I know it's hard to abandon your brethren," Mengsk said, becoming more charismatic by the moment. "but you know what has to be done. If we can exploit the swarm's presently exposed defenses, we may be able to shake off the control they have over the universe. We owe it to the future to see to the destruction of this foul plague. This situation will not last long before the zerg replinish in number. We must act now."

"Of course. What did you have in mind?"

"Char. It still remains the greatest stronghold of the zerg. If it can be defeated, well, there's no telling to what we can do next. Still, I'm curious about something. What was it those corsairs found on Aiur? It must have been something important."

Artanis paused, wondering Mengsk's reaction could be, before speaking. "Blueprints of a devastating weapon. You remember it. It was the Irenitar, which purged the Terran world Chau Sara."

Alba grew suddenly animated. "That's where it's been all along? Why didn't someone get it earlier? So much could have been accomplished!"

"I am not certain why those who believe in the Khala did not construct another one," Artanis responded. "perhaps Namixis can speak of it. But I do know that in the past there was only one operational, and its parts were each installed on the Ganthritor and other carriers under Executor Tassadar's command. Once Tassadar had decided to spare the humans, he began to discontinue its use. Maybe the Conclave did not have enough time to complete another Irenitar, and perhaps they left behind the plans in accident. In any case, this cannon was destroyed along with the Overmind."

_"Perfect."_

The Protoss turned to Mengsk.

"This is exactly what we need." he said. "How long would it take to construct another one?"

"About no more than a week, I would estimate, given each part is constructed at the same time. You see, the cannon comes in seven different sections. They will be installed in seven different carriers, one holding the main controls while the others hold the generators. However, if we are to use this device, we would need to protect all seven carriers, because we would have no spare generators, and if the main one was destroyed, the battle could be set back for another week. If we can penetrate the defenses of Char, I have no doubt we can defeat the swarm there."

"Oh, but not just there." Mengsk began. "On Aiur, a great number of the Zerg-"

"What? You dare suggest we terminate our own homeworld?" Artanis exclaimed. "I had no idea you were this intent upon vengeance!"

"It could hardly be called vengeance." From the look on Mengsk's face one could almost believe he really was offended. "Your appearance in the K-sector is probably one of the biggest reasons I came to power in the first place, and I have forgiven you long ago. It's just that with so many of the swarm gathering there, and the infested twelve, a great victory could be achieved. Do you expect to be able to get Aiur back despite so many Zerg? It's fortified like no other planet smothered in creep."

"We cannot be expected to destroy our home."

"You won't be destroying it. You will be saving it." Mengsk went on, taking up the sort of voice he liked to use in his speeches. "I know what you're going through. Korhal has long been ravaged by nuclear war, but the Dominion as not allowed our world to fall into ruin!"

"Hypocritical, almost," Alba started, to everyone's annoyance. "How you would so easily destroy an infested Terran world but get all squeamish when there's not even a single living Protoss on yours."

"That was the decision of the Conclave, rash human." Judicator Namixis said as he emerged from the shadows and calmly approached the group. "The Conclave has fallen into despair; it simply is no more. No longer do its decisions command our brethren."

The Judicator calmly faced Major Alba. "And I find it hypocritical how you claim to be insulted for your race when you act as a spy against them. How long did you suspect your play of ignorance would blind the eyes of the Dominion toward your betrayal?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Alba snarled. "I've been loyally working for the Dominion ten years now. Look, we-"

"Not so. Or you should have told Mengsk that your psionic faculties are more than they appear to be. When were you going to speak of the many Confederate experiments you recovered from space pirates? Or did you perhaps think that was not necessary?"

Before the others could react, the Major pulled out his handgun and aimed at Namixis. With a lurid "Screw you!", he pulled the trigger.

It clicked. Empty.

Alba had only time to curse loudly before Namixis threw him against the inner wall, away from the windows. Almost immediately a shot rang out to splatter Francis's head, bringing the Major to an untimely and gruesome end. Down the long hall stood General John Akeroyd, lowering his smoking weapon.

This man was not young, being thirty eight and scarred forever by the zerg. One such scar streaked down from the top of his cheek to his chin, sporting a deep brown color on his tanned face. A true expression of military, he was completely bald, except for a residue of dark fuzz that proved he had not shaved his head in days. His Terran Dominion uniform was not in the best of conditions, and his service coat showed his unregulation style by remaining unbuttoned over his shirt.

John blinked his innocent blue eyes, then broke the silence. "Sorry about my disappearance, Emperor. I had some important stuff to do."

Addressing Namixis, he said, "How did you know about Alba?"

"Simple. His mind showed the same symptoms as the late Raszagal when Kerrigan had controlled the Matriarch's mind. The similar aggravations, the behavioral conflicts...I wonder how long Kerrigan has had this man under her sway."

Akeroyd shook his head. "It's not Kerrigan. It can't be. When I was out there, I intercepted several high-frequency transmissions to some far away destination. My crew tried to trace it, but the results were inconclusive. If Blades had him, she would've talked to Alba psionically. No, there's somebody else out there looking to get info on us."

This news was certainly deserving of another moment of silence.

"Maybe...maybe Kerrigan knows." Mengsk began. "If this threat has something to do with Aiur, it would explain why the swarm is gathering there."

"She cannot know what it is," Artanis put in. "otherwise she would already be attacking it. Either this opposition is not yet something that would threaten her yet, or she cannot find it."

"What's all this talk of Blades? Alba's side was spying on us, not her." Akeroyd spoke. "It wants to know how much of a problem we might be for whatever it wants to do, I think. How can we assume this has anything to do with Kerrigan?"

"Estimation is all we have, presently." Artanis said. "Kerrigan's behavior has been far too strange to be excusable. Emperor, how long has Major Alba served you directly?"

"Just a few months, but he doesn't have very high clearance even so. I doubt he could tell whoever he works for very much about the Terran Dominion, and almost nothing about the Protoss. Damn, Akeroyd, no one loved Alba, but why did you shoot him before he could be interrogated?"

"Hey, someone might have come to rescue him, and if this mess is big enough to get the Queen of the zerg all outta joint, we don't have what it takes to stop them."

Namixis had had enough of this. None of their talk was going to make any difference at all. They needed facts. They needed to know for sure why the zerg were gathering, and not laying waste to Shakuras, Moria, and all the other worlds where folk still lived free of the swarm. If they were to stop this nonsense and know how to act, somewhere a source of truth would have to be found.

And as he walked down the hall, away from the others and over a pool of Alba's running blood, Namixis wondered why he had never tried this before.

Alone in his house the Judicator now sat, on the soft carpeting of the sitting room. No lights shed their glow in the room, or even in the house as a matter of fact, but if they had been on, the pleasant room would be revealed to show very little, except the flattened trails in the carpet where furniture had been pushed from the room, not that there had been much in the first place. All that remained was a tapestry of the Shelak tribe, to which Namixis belonged, and a large picture on the other side depicting the clear Aiuran skies over a coastal city. Two windows tightly shut and covered against the afternoon sun stood in the wall between the artworks on Namixis's right; on the left were the double doors that led to the rest of the house.

The Judicator sat on the floor, eyes shut and hands folded on the second joints of his legs. He cleared his mind of thoughts and steadily ignored the noise of traffic outside. Senses vanished slowly as he searched for the emanations. This was not a difficult task today; more overreaching than ever before, though somehow weaker, came the psionics of infested Templar Kariv.

Nothingness was replaced by swollen tissue, the inner side of the infested chyrsalis, including its content. This vision of Kariv looked worse than when he last appeared in Namixis's dreams. Tendrils swung from his once sturdy limbs, the thick carapace spread further over his back and shoulders, and claws replaced his fingernails and were scattered about his face and spine. The brilliant blue of his eyes faded to a distant yellow, pale and hollow. Kariv looked aimless, numb; these were the signs of advanced infestation, if the visions were any indication.

"Templar Kariv!"

The Protoss did not acknowledge the Judicator's call.

"Kariv of Alkilae! Answer me!"

Slowly the Templar turned his head. "I am succumbing...look at this...this form..."

"It is not real, Kariv. Here your body is nothing more than an image put on display. This lie must not be heeded, at all costs. Ignore it."

No response Namixis could have given could prevent Kariv's reaction.

"Ignore it! You may as well command me to summon a thousand stars and tame them into a lamp! I have no control over this! I can no more affect this than I could the tides. I...am not my own..."

"We all know too well the trials you go through and-"

"And do nothing! The Zerg are still here. When are they going to be destroyed? For years now we have submitted in silence to her hand, and only we upon Aiur surface did not cower before the swarm. So we have paid for our loyalty, to be abandoned to death or enlistment into her ranks! Am I mistaken, or were you not also one entirely dedicated to our home's salvation?" Kariv shut his eyes in grief, trying to restore himself. "Or at the very least, might I be saved? You have the power! Nellek-Seivad is free!"

"Nellek-Seivad was not saved. Even as we fled from Haitar, the nanites failed in their duty, by some miscalculation. Before our eyes he fell into darkness, and is now beyond the Khala's end."

"But he is saved! Dead, ah to be dead!"

"And a thousand others to be slaughtered needlessly with you. Listen, realize this anger only brings you further into the swarm. You must calm down. Do you understand?"

Kariv nodded, but very slowly; it was if he only barely understood, or moving too much was impossible.

"Good. We on the outside need your help. Doubtless you have learned much about the swarm during this period that none else would could ever attempt to learn. What can you say of Kerrigan? What is it she fears most and why is the swarm so strengthened upon Aiur?"

But no response was given. The vision began to fade out, like a television in bad weather. Kariv did not seem to hear what the Judicator had just said, but began once more to silently brood in assumed solitude, forgetting his conversation. The cold of the dark sitting room began to return and sounds of home began to cloud the vision. Namixis concentrated harder, only to find his efforts wasted and normalcy coming quicker.

"Kariv, wait! Tell me of Kerrigan's plans! Why is she at Aiur? Kariv...Kariv!"

The Templar barely stirred, obviously trying to listen, but not comprehending much or perhaps not even caring. After a moment he began to shake, trembling as a lonely child in a storm, eyes shut in anticipation of some punishment or terror. Whatever liquid the chrysalis held, it began to swirl about, almost attacking the Protoss in a fury. Kariv seemed to be drowning, and he struggled against it and pushed at his skin-like surroundings, though the sides of the chrysalis would not give way. Soon the signal became weaker and weaker, until the clouds of liquid disguised the trapped form beyond recognition.

_"No! My mind is not the swarm's! I am not Zerg, I am Templar! RELEASE ME!"_

Reviving suddenly, the vision returned with greater strength than before, the background changing from the chrysalis to the open air of a cloudless and landless sky. Kariv again appeared, as if floating in the strange vision, struggling to hold back the control of the zerg. His eyes opened wide, shining out in duo red flames as if he could burn his way out to freedom. Any signs of the tainted Zerg features were gone from his mental perspective of a body.

In a sort of despair, Kariv turned to Namixis. "I do not have much time, but it is Duran she fears! Samir Duran! He is the key, and he is the one who shall bring about a worse nightmare than ever the swarm. No one is certain when, but the hybrids are coming! Aiur is the beg-"

The light struggled, but grew ever stronger, blinding Namixis's psionic sight. In conjunction with the increase of light, a long scream erupted from the Templar, more high-pitched than physically possible, yet somehow pouring from the destitute Protoss. Once more the chrysalis innards swirled around him, taking Kariv back into his torture and metamorphosis.

Namixis was bound into the vision even as the bizarre surroundings took hold of the still screaming Kariv. The Judicator could not escape. His mind was completely sunk into the power of the swarm, and his body joined in the fight to get free, despite the futility of this accomplishment. The swarm sought to draw Namixis's mind into itself, and patiently the will of the beasts clamped onto the Judicator. But with a final gasp from Kariv, Namixis was hurled from the vision. It slammed shut as he left, leaving him without his senses on the floor.

He was completely unaware of how long he spent lying unconscious. All he knew, for a moment, was that he was unbearably cold, paralyzingly tired, and cramped from his stiff position. Getting up, he spent a few minutes rubbing the carpet marks off his face before he realized something from outside of the room was making a beeping noise.

_"What is that?"_

Namixis left the room, stumbling over his asleep legs, and made his way to the source of the sound. His computer console, still on the table he had moved from the sitting room, blinked with the message that someone was trying to contact him. He pressed a few buttons, letting Templar Enyidar's face come on the screen.

"Judicator...you look terrible."

"I suppose so. What is it?"

"Artanis has made a decision. There is an opportunity to destroy a large number of Zerg and reduce their threat in the K-sector, so the Irenitar will again be used, this time to decimate Char. He has requested that you select more warriors with knowledge of the Gantrithor to operate the Irenitar, and also powerful minds to initiate the weapon itself, for we must be better prepared if we intend to attack Char."

"Very well, I shall do this. Tell Artanis...tell him that I wish to take responsibility of commandeering the vessel bearing the Irenitar. I know every detail of the craft, and I am full aware of how it operates, at least in words. Remind him of my continuing authority over this project."

"It is true that you have overseen the cannon's progress, even when it was in the hands of Tassadar." Enyidar admitted. "But still I have doubts that you would be capable of performing this deed. Nonetheless, that does not matter. Another has already been chosen. It is Templar Narindal of the Akilae who will commandeer the craft and its cannon, just as he had upon Char."

"Very well."

Namixis shut off the console, sitting quietly in his chair with his arms folded. Artanis's decision was reasonable enough. In fact, it made perfect sense. But the Judicator was suspicious of the war's history. They had always been fighting the wrong people. Mengsk fought the Confederates instead of the Zerg, the Conclave fought Tassadar, the Judicatora fought the Dark Templar, and the UED fought everyone while everyone fought back, letting the Zerg do as they wished. By the time alliance was struck, the Zerg couldn't be defeated. It was too late. Nowadays they had the power and the focused concentration of their hatred, finally, but now there was a new threat, something that was "a worse nightmare than ever was the swarm", as Kariv put it. It seemed wrong to ignore them.

_"What are these hybrids, and why Aiur? This makes no sense..."_

But his decision had been made long ago. He would obey the young Artanis, just as he had sworn when the young Artanis came into authority. Long ago the people had decided upon Artanis's leadership for his interest in both Dark and High Templar affairs; he formerly was a High Templar, and upon losing his nerve cords by accident took up the practices of the dark ones. While Namixis was consulted on every decision, he was a mere advisor and had little official power, just another former servant of the Conclave subject to Patriarch Artanis's will.

And until he could comprehend what Kariv told him, what could he else do but obey? It would definitely help if Char was no longer an obstacle. He knew one thing: the threat was coming, but not yet here. There would be some time before whatever the danger came to be.

_"Hybrids of what...?"_

\ \ \ \ \

Author's Notes:

- The first half of this chapter, where the 'Toss and Terrans are talking, is from the original version of this chapter. The edited version didn't include killing Alba. I forget all the reasons why I edited it out later, but for one thing it seemed pretty violent. And pretty weird that the humans are shooting each other in a Protoss citadel. But, for this recap edition, I'm going with the original. It's more interesting that way.

The second half is the second version, but there's no major changes from the original, other than just generally cleaner narrative.


	10. Sanvean

Char. Peacefully the molten planet stood in the void, except for the occasional burst of lava as the seismic activity shot it into space. The earthquakes were mild that day. That was the routine for young Char- young according to the celestial bodies. However, over time it would cool. The heat that it gathered with its thin, gaseous atmosphere from the star it revolved around wouldn't and couldn't help its fifth planet maintain its mighty heat forever. Inevitably Chat would cool to the state of barren stone, alone and dead in the wild shapes and wrinkles, each a memory of its firey youth.

Every cave, fissure, and canyon would become beautiful and delicate, but no more would the harsh, unearthed magma carve them out. The mountains will lie still, and the bold red slopes will temper, becoming the bony architecture of the landscape. And yet, Char was still vibrant, heeding no care to its elder years ahead as it burned and scorched without discrimination at the various broods, themselves too stupidly obedient to ther mistress to save their own lives.

The planet glittered patiently, minding itself as it always did. As the lava flowed, the light it reflected revealed odd patches in space. The light blurred, on the side of space, but this couldn't be seen from the surface, unless a star or two looked less bright than it usually did. It seemed that something was in the way, and making a steady course toward their infested space platforms.

It was Char's enemies.

The cloaked wraiths began their assault, followed by the numerous carriers and corsairs, beginning upon the outer defenses of Char's space platforms. Akeroyd led the way of the dullahans that swept overhead, cascading death on the zerg. They did not stay for long, but allowed the second wave to handle what remained. As they passed through the scanty atmosphere, Akeroyd couldn't help but wonder if this psi cannon would erradicate the platforms as well.

_"Didn't it take down the platforms on Chau? Dang...I don't remember. They probably already said at that meeting we had earlier. Oh well, that's what I get for not paying attention."_

The rendevous point was quickly reached, but it took several minutes for the dullahans to clear the Zerg presense. More of the fat flying zerg, now named brood wyrms, were spawned to handle such an attack, and they flew about, destroying dullahans left and right. Were it not for the carriers and reavers laying on the cover fire, the new Terran units would be completely wiped out.

Several shuttles flew in, quickly bringing in the probes that would establish the necessary pylon cluster in the valley. Eight probes scuttled quickly from a shuttle to immediately complete their tasks. Four began to warp in the small photon cannons on the outskirts of the settlement, one warped in a nexus and assimilator, and the last three warped in the pylons to power the cannons before creating the cluster that would initiate the chain reaction.

"The Zerg are coming back for more!" a wraith exclaimed.

Zerglings poured in from every direction, followed by a similar flood of screaming hydralisks. Dullahans bombed and cannons fired, but the swarm just continued their assault. Probes filled quickly the gaps in defense with photon cannons to stop the invasion, yet the beasts could not be held back for long. Siege tanks managed to resist the encroaching Zerg waves for the moment, however.

Akeroyd spittle flew against his console as he cursed. "How much longer is this gonna take?" he signaled the High Templar below. "We can't hold 'em like this forever."

"The weak surface has required more pylons than previously expected," one of the Templar responded. "but they are now complete. We are starting to channel the emanations to the proper-"

"I _know_ how it works! How much longer we got?"

"Perhaps twenty minutes."

More spittle hit the controls of Akeroyd's dullahan as he tried to get in touch with Mengsk. "Emperor, we need reinforcements! The swarm's gatherin' like flies at a pig pickin', and them High Templar have like half an hour to get done with their stuff. I don't think we can maintain this alone, sir!"

"Sorry John, there's no possible way we could send help. We're not doing so well out here either. I know you can hold them at bay long enough. Remember, after the pylons are set we just need to fire the psi cannon. There's nothing the zerg can do about it then. You know what you're doing, I'm sure you can handle the situation. Over and out."

Akeroyd sighed, hoping the Zerg would thin out shortly.

-t-

It was a crimson eternity until the Ganthritor II received the news that the High Templars' work was done. The pylons were set to overload, ready for the pulse of the psi cannon to set it off. A retreat of all on Char ensued, and the vessels returned to their space convoy. Also, an escort of wraiths, carriers, corsairs, and all the other starcraft now available from the surface formed envoys that would guide the six transmission carriers to their designated blast points.

As speedily as they could, the Dominion and Protoss made their way into position, but the Zerg pursued, knowing that this could mean their lives. Like a hungry network of army ants, the brood hordes fled to consume all transmitters and whatever was between them and their destination. One of the carriers was put off-course by a barrage of devourers, but the aid of a group of wraiths ended the threat quickly enough. Finally, each carrier had found its position and made ready for the devastation.

The psionic linking began.

The Ganthritor II charged the cannon. Increasingly powerful energies harnessed themselves around the vessel, and gathering close enough to be seen in the pure blue tones was the great flash that characterizes the true soul of every Protoss. Blue emanations swarmed over the stern and sides of its host ship, dancing increasingly bright as the shifting psionics prepared to end Char.

Suddenly a huge flight of scourges rushed from the planet, making right for the glowing Gantrithor, not yet fully charged enough to decimate the target. There were too many bloodthirsty screamers for the other vessels to catch them all, despite the extraordinary defenses that encompassed. The scourges shrieked as they swiftly headed for the already injured Ganthritor II, ready to explode in a kind of ecstasy for their bloodlusting species. Mengsk, noticing this, rushed to action.

"Get between them and Namixis!" he ordered his pilot. "And charge the yamato!"

Norad IV shifted position into the cannon's firing path, speedily enough to prevent most of the front flying scourges from finding their way, instead forcing them to explode against the battlecruiser's sheilding. But more were coming, and Norad could not withstand the power of so many, even if the tiny beasts were still too confused to go beyond its hull.

"Fire!"

With that order, the Norad's yamato cannon sent a fiery charge through the mad critters, torching each scourge that attempted to prevent the psi cannon from its devastating mission. Only a few escaped the blast, not near enough to penetrate the fleet of trigger-happy corsairs.

"Sir!" the Norad's pilot exclaimed. "The psi's almost ready to fire and we're in the blast path!"

"Get out of the way!"

The side propulsion system kicked in, rocketing Norad IV to the right. No sooner than the beginning of this movement took place, the psi cannon discharged. The blue light shot straight ahead, blasting out the rear propulsions of Norad as it forced its way down to Char.

This weapon struck the pylons below, sending a shockwave of energy through the valley, which could not withstand the blast due to its precariously unstable ground structure. Below the cluster the ground shook and ripped, sending waves of lava in cascades upward and out. Many of the pylons were destroyed in the uprising of molten rock, yet their energies were strong enough to be picked up by the six transmission carriers. They sent the blue waves over the landscape, annihilating any and all life the energy hit.

While in the Norad IV, the badly shaken crew worked successfully to stop a pressure leak in the rear of the ship and reinforce the particle field that prevented every mother's son of them from being sucked out into the vast vacuum. Mengsk, who went flying as the psi cannon hit Norad, now returned to his seat in haste.

"Lieutenant Jorgenson, what's our status?"

The helmsman answered, "We're mostly okay. Some major hull plating damage, but it's being taken care off. Still, rear and starboard thrusts are gone, so I don't see us moving anywhere unless we magically get a new butt on this ship."

_"How many more Norads are there going to be, I wonder?"_ Mengsk mused, then aloud, "Contact-"

"Holy-! Emperor, the extreme heat of Char is causing the psionic energy to radiate outwards! The power's blast is headed straight for us!"

The Emperor called out orders, futile as they were. There was nothing Mengsk could do, nothing but watch as the other ships fled the oncoming wave and mutter an inaudible prayer that the ship would magically get a new butt. Yet quickly it became too late. All that remained was to stare at death with the bravery of a knight, or perhaps the stupidity of a dumb animal, so that fear wouldn't bind you to thoughts of how much that wave of blue crap was going to hurt as it ripped through your tiny body.

And so Mengsk and his crew would have done, if the Executor had not caught their peril in time to recall them to a safe location. The sudden distance between them and Norad IV's imminent destruction stunned all inside, leaving them a bit numb as Templar Narindal dutifully hailed.

"Emperor, are you alright?"

Mengsk, relieved at the situation, grinned a bit as he replied, "No harm done. We'll live."

Another voice sounded over the speakers. Akeroyd.

"Sir, I'm gettin' a dropship to pull y'all outta there. Looks like Norad IV is just about done bein' useful, and it won't be long till the Zerg decide they'll be comin' back."

"Good job, John."

As the armies prepared for departure, a very cheerful squadron of wraiths speedily swept up the few surviving zerg. Char, the very source of the past years' pain, finally smoked in its state of devastation. Countless deaths were avenged.

\ \ \ \ \

Author's Notes:

- So, um, why am I posting this again? Yay for battle scenes...I can't believe I put Mengsk in the battle. There's no way he'd actually want to be in one. Of course, it is Char, and this event is bound to get him looking good in Korhal's eyes. He's got to do something to keep up his propaganda, I guess.

Y'know, Blizzard - and I know you're on this site for a fact, so don't deny it - I really hate what you did to Mengsk in Starcraft II. You turned him into the stereotypical "reclusive tyrant" who kills people and covers his tracks with the most blatant propaganda that no one with a brain or outside communication would ever believe. You see, the thing about a reclusive tyrants is that it only works if you can keep your people contained. Like North Korea, for example. Because it's hard to escape or communicate past borders, the Kims reign supreme. If you have a universe with several planets, then there's no way to completely seal all borders and people are going to find out what a huge jerk Mengsk is, guaranteed. He has to at least _try_ to be a good leader.

I always saw Mengsk as a clever dude that would be pretty hard to pin a crime on. And you just go and ruin it by making him an idiot. Raynor finding an adjutant with evidence would be much more important in a world where it takes actual cleverness to see past Mengsk's facade. Come on, Blizz, I like you, but you can do way better than this. Of course, it may be a silly thing to complain about this when I'm reposting a story from years ago.


	11. No Way Out

"This is absurd! Why is this even being discussed? I see the reasoning behind your argument, but you simply cannot ask us to destroy Aiur!"

"But I am. It is the primary staging point for whatever the Zerg are planning. You know it; we've been over all of this before. With the swarm mostly on Aiur now that Char is gone, if we use the Irenitar, there will be victory! Kerrigan will be dead, as well as her cerebrate and the infested Protoss. With no one left to lead them, the swarm will be almost easy to get rid of."

In the main citadel of Shakuras, once again Mengsk and Artanis debated whether or not Aiur should be purged. This took place in a small room, away from anyone uninvolved in the debate. Artanis did not feel the citizens should know anything about the conflict, upsetting and undecided as it was. Even Mengsk's bodyguards remained outside the sparse room, standing quietly until needed.

General Akeroyd was there, nervous from hardly having been at a Protoss city before, and never summoned to a secret meeting by them either. He just sat in silence, trying to sit still on a much too large bench. If anyone was paying attention to him, they would be reminded of a small boy in an office, waiting while his father completed some business well beyond the little one's understanding. Mengsk had only one purpose for Akeroyd that day; he would present a new strategy for eliminating Aiur. All the details were worked out shortly after the fight on Char, unbeknownst to the Protoss. But until Mengsk could convince Artanis to go along with the idea, all the General could do was sit and shut up, as he had been ordered.

Included in the meeting was of course Namixis, not entirely enthralled with the situation. This continuous rambling of Mengsk annoyed him thoroughly. Why couldn't the human understand that they were not going to destroy their own homeworld? What made him insist so fervently upon it? But most importantly, would Artanis act according to Mengsk's plans? Namixis couldn't allow something like that to happen.

"Emperor," the Judicator began, sternly. "you will pardon me for saying so, but since the beginning of this conflict your dealings have been little else besides a quest for universal power. Your selfishness has brought us our greatest enemy and allowed her to claim the Zerg as well as subdue us who stand against her. I fear that what you have planned will be the end of us all, due to your almost single-minded self concern. Do not be offended; the truth of what I say is undeniable."

The Emperor almost humbly nodded, wincing at the accusation. "Believe me, I understand completely. I've been nearly single-handedly responsible for putting Kerrigan in power, but that only makes me the more persistent in fixing what I've ruined. And the sooner the swarm is scattered, the sooner I get redemption. Besides, I'm an emperor, and I've an empire of citizens that I have to keep safe."

"Yes, yes," Artanis put in. "All of us share the motive of protecting our own race. But even if we destroyed those upon Aiur, they would be lead by the other cerebrates that Kerrigan hasn't yet destroyed. There must be another path, one that will not require us what you deem necessary. We fight for Aiur, not against it."

The Judicator could see that Artanis was beginning to crack. A small look of doubt and hope lingered on the Patriarch's face, and Namixis knew that if Mengsk said much more, the leader of the Protoss would be coerced into doing the inconceivable. Grasping at strings, Namixis tried to think of something that could change Artanis's mind and stop him from making the wrong decision.

"There is yet one thing that is of use..." he mentioned solemnly.

Mengsk was obviously irritated that someone had interrupted him. "And what is that?" he slowly said, trying to contain his impatience.

"The Zerg themselves. For if Kerrigan acts to defend her position to a threat, they might indeed act as a shield against whatever this threat may be. Aiur is at best an akward place to begin conquest of the Koprullu Sector, if that is indeed her intent. No, it would seem she is trying to oppose something else that is located closer to it. I believe I have an idea of that." The Judicator proceeded to tell them all he had learned in his conversation with the infesting Kariv.

"What? Why did you not speak of this earlier?" Artanis exclaimed.

"I doubt it could have made a difference, and despite it Char needed to be destroyed. Now, that business being complete, we have the time to look toward other things, including our future concerning what lies beyond the edges of the Koprulu Sector."

"That's ridiculous." Mengsk said. "There is no hard evidence that anything Kariv said is true. How do you know it was really Kariv anyway? Kerrigan could be manipulating the emanations of the twelve because she knows they can contact almost anyone in the universe right now. You know she would. And even assuming that was Kariv, how does he know anything about Kerrigan's motives? And why would you be able to contact him so clearly? We've all had the strange dreams, and no one ever had a conversation with an infested person before."

This assumption bothered Namixis especially. "Perhaps it is that you underestimate my psionic abilities, _Emperor_."

"Judicator, calm yourself." Artanis warned. "we are not here to argue."

"We are here to act." Mengsk said authoritatively. "And we can't just wait until whatever your alleged threat is comes along, if really is a threat. Aiur must be dealt with now."

Namixis immediately approached to rise above the upstart Arcturus. "What makes you believe that you have superior knowledge of the things of this universe? You survive today only out of the nondiscriminatory sadism of the Queen of Blades! It seems you do not realize how truly weak you and your pathetic Terran Dominion are, _human_!"

"Well if we are so weak, why is it the Protoss homeworld is under the rule of the Queen of Blades?" Mengsk commented, flatly. "As Artanis, your Patriarch, already said, this isn't the time or the place to argue. Things can be settled reasonably in your absence, if you don't feel like you can stand the pressure of being rational."

"Silence! That's quite enough!" Artanis snapped.

Namixis ignored the Patriarch. "Think, Arcturus, what would perhaps happen if our roles were reversed? You certainly would not be calm if some supposed ally demanded you destroy your own home!"

"I wouldn't mind at all. Korhal has proven-"

"I was referring to Earth!"

"So, what if it had to be torched? If Earth turns out like Aiur, its destruction would be necessary. Apparently some of us in the room don't understand that."

_There are no 'what ifs'._

Hearing this, the Protoss turned to Akeroyd for an explanation. Mengsk, confused, followed suit after a second.

"There's no 'what ifs'." Akeroyd repeated, out loud this time. "It's what my dad used to say, and I think it applies here. No sense in bothering about what isn't gonna be a problem.

"Now, we have three options, so far as I can see. One, we go in and blast Aiur with the Irenitar cannon thingy. That would take out Kerrigan, most of their forces, and all them infested 'Toss. They'd never suspect it, cause that would piss y'all off completely, they knowin' how much you care about it an' all. Two, we strike everywhere but, taking out as many of them critters as we can and depleting their ability the mass up on us. Thing is, if we choose that, they're gonna strike our planets, depleted of war resources, as fast as they can throw zerglings at us, and them infested Toss are gonna emerge sometime soon. Third, we wait and see whatever mister Namixis was all talkin' about. Can't do that, cause Blades is sure to be gettin' ready for retaliation right now. I'm not about to say what you guys should do, but hurry up. Time's runnin' out."

Akeroyd, having made his point, sat back and silenced.

Namixis immediately appealed to Artanis. "Are you going to listen to this man? The homeworld cannot be betrayed."

"It's already gone." Mengsk said. "It'd be betrayal if you just let the Zerg have it."

The Patriarch stood silently, considering this matter with uncertainty. After a moment, he nodded gently, decision made.

"...We have no other choice." Artanis said with solemn futility, incredulous at his own words. "Aiur has been spoiled already with Kerrigan's touch. What more can we do to it, besides remove that stain? Though we desire the perfection of older days...that is a dream that cannot come to realization without the defeat of Kerrigan. We will do this, painful though it is."

"I've got some plans on how it can be done." Akeroyd mentioned. "All we have to do is find an area where the zerglings wouldn't be able to surround us. They'd get us worse than on Char if we don't get a better location. There's some caves- is there a map anywhere? Well, if we could get to those caves, we'd just set knock out the nydus canals and set up there. The cannon should definitely be able to get through the rock, if the pylons aren't set in it too deep...I gotta go find the Executor."

Akeroyd departed quickly in search for the Protoss strategist, eager now that he could finally put into play his dedicated skill. Mengsk followed, giving Namixis a sympathetic look before he turned away to exit. And as he passed through the huge doors, he couldn't help but smile. He won; his charisma was as powerful as always and his performance was flawless. His cool was kept even under pressure. With restored confidence Mengsk joined his bodyguard again, then went to find Akeroyd before the general did something ridiculous.

"Do not be so upset, Namixis." Artanis said as the door shut. "The general was right; nothing else we can do is effective to stop the Zerg's efforts."

"I know that, indeed I know it too well." the Judicator painfully yielded. "but that only makes this entire situation worse. Mengsk, he would stop at nothing in the destruction of the swarm, even were it his own destruction in the end, perhaps, if he is less self-concerned in his vengeful madness than of old. But we Protoss, where is our limit? Where do we stop? Is there a point where the victory is not worth...no. No, of course you are right. Victory or death, that is all we have to choose...I do not know if the people shall accept this decision. Too many have given their lives upon it to see their efforts result in vain eradication..." his quiet words drifted off a moment before picking up again. "...but in the end, I suppose they shall all be avenged in this. I will act accordingly to...what you have ordered."

Namixis, overcome with frustration, left before Artanis could say anything in response. The humans, much slower walkers, were still not out of sight down the hallway, to the right. In turn the Judicator went left, not wanting to be anywhere near the smaller species. But as he turned off, he heard Mengk's voice. Namixis didn't stop. He'd had enough crap from Mengsk to last a long time.

"Judicator, please wait a moment."

For no reason he himself could think of, the Protoss stopped and turned, allowing his glaring red eyes to fall on the daring emperor. Arcturus wasn't daunted by this act. He had done the most daunting thing he had ever done by making his suggestion, and nothing less would ever sway him.

"On Mar Sara," Mengsk quietly said. "The trees are growing back."

There was a little pause.

"This isn't the end."

With that, Mengsk walked away.

-t-

Namixis hurriedly walked down the hall towards the lounge, hoping he hadn't missed too much of the launch. His studies at the Ziggurat always kept him behind on current events. Usually this didn't bother him, but today was different. It was the first chapter of a new Protoss story, the story where the invading Zerg would be destroyed in a glorious war as they attempted to assimilate the entire universe into themselves. The great fleets of Aiur would see to the end of the swarm's threat, and it all began with the mighty Gantrithor and its convoy to the human worlds under the command of Executor Tassadar.

Yes, in a tragic prologue many of the border worlds where the young humans lived were already covered in the creep. They were being killed and infested by an enemy they didn't understand, an enemy that they never knew before. Something had to be done about it, and most sapiens barely knew anything about Zerg. Citizens who didn't live on the border worlds knew nothing at all, because the repressive Confederate government didn't want them to know. Namixis didn't care to guess what their motives might be, all he knew is that the Protoss were coming to save the species under their care. The Dae'Uhl required it.

Of course, it wasn't totally in keeping with the Dae'Uhl to suffer human collateral damage in the process. But how else were the Zerg going to be destroyed? Every last trace of the Zerg had to be wiped out. They were as resilliant as cockroaches; even one of them could put the Terran race in jeopardy. So, even though the humans may not understand at first, purifying their infested worlds was necessary. The Judicator took pride in the fact that the Irenitar was so effecient, so humane. There would be no pain in the unfortunate deaths. Surely the humans would learn to understand. They knew about sacrifice, didn't they?

Rushing onward, Namixis arrived just in time to see the Gantrithor already out of dock and flying away to Chau Sara. Sighing, he silently cursed. He missed it. Tassadar and his crew were already going. Many of the Protoss in the room had left already, having seen the historical departure. Nevertheless, Namixis watched Gantrithor as long as he could, before the last news-observers had left and the monitor's information changed to more local matters.

"Namixis? Is that you?"

He turned to find another Judicator, and old friend. "En taro Adun, Aldaris."

"You must have come just now." Aldaris replied as he walked over. "Late again from your studies, I expect."

"I meant to only work for ten more minutes, but ten became twenty, and before I knew it, the launch was starting. Eh, I was hoping to see it...but the Ziggurat has proved to be entirely too captivating. We are now near to discovering how the Xel'Naga used it in the ancient times."

The other Judicator smiled - which is possible to do without a mouth, if you can believe it. "That is the very thing you said to me thirty years ago. I suspect it is no more true now than it was then."

"Not so. We have made quite a few breakthroughs in translating the Xel'Nagan language. Their grammar structure is not especially different from ours, and as it so turns out, they apparently have used two different languages. The more obvious one is carved into the very walls of the structure, and a more encrypted one was used in the few documents we discovered. But enough of that. Tell me, what brings you to this province? You must be very busy being advisor to Executor Tassadar and overseeing this expedition."

"I was sent to speak with a few of those who know Tassadar." he said quietly, so that no one else could hear. "I should not tell you this, but it is feared that his pity for the humans will overcome his sense of duty."

Namixis was shocked. "No. That seems entirely against his character. Certainly he realizes that this is for the humans' own good."

"It is the nature of the Templar caste, of course. They do not believe that this is the correct path, despite all we know of the swarm's simple yet violent purposes. If we do not stop this now, then the humans will only become another instrument for Zerg conquest."

"Pity that it would come to this, that the humans would suffer so. They will not at first understand the necessity."

Aldaris almost laughed. "You pity them? Hardly. You were entirely repulsed once you first saw what they looked like. I do not doubt that you would feel differently if you worked more directly with we who must influence them for their own betterment."

"They cannot help the fact that they are so unbearably ugly." Namixis gave excuse. "But I am curious to know how the Conclave came to this decision."

"You doubt the wisdom of their choice?" A shadow of suspicion fell over Aldaris' cheery demeanor.

"No, not at all. It is just that while I have been immersed withing the ancient past, I fear that modern history escapes me. With the Zerg as threatening as they are, I do not believe this unawareness should continue. It is time I opened my eyes to the present. That is why missing the Gantrithor's departure is so dissapointing." The older Judicator looked quietly at the sky. "When do you expect the fleet to reach its first destination?"

"It should be a mere thirty moonrises." The younger gladly responded, thankful that his friend was no heretic. "It is good that you are becoming knowledgeable of the times. Indeed, it is a glorious future in store for the Protoss; you shall not be disappointed in our glory."

-t-

Namixis entered the large launch bay. His padding footsteps gently echoed in the stone hall. Seven vessels, unmanned, stood quietly in the center. A few other craft line the left wall. Fore whatever reason, the huge bay door in the forward wall was open. The Protoss was glad of that; the evening breezes on Shakuras were delightfully cool. This, combined with the deep blue sand and many time-carved canyons, filled the Judicator with a sense of humble tragedy. The Dark Templar world had its own special beauty, with its cold expanses and lightly cloudy skies.

For a moment, Namixis couldn't remember the warmth of an Aiuran summer, or the smell of its foliage after monsoon season. Realizing this, he sighed, wishing with all he had that he could see a tall gree tree. But in this age that was a rare sight that not even the Terrans could well boast of. And he didn't dare think of his old home. The city of his birth was long cast down in the ruin. Namixis himself had seen the first images of Pherian's destruction. Shelak tribalmen, those not directly concerned with the fight, watched as the first Zerg entered in and bespoild the ancient architecture and tore down the resistance defending it.

And he saw what was left, this time in person as one of the fleeing evacuees. The worst of it was that as the civillians prepared their departure, none of them recognised that the broken stones under their feet were the only remnants of Pherian. That was the last Namixis ever saw of Aiur; even ten years later he could hardly looked at her picture.

Two eyes, now bluer than the landscape, turned up to look at the vessels. There was no mistaking the carrier. It was Zheldhin, the mighty craft vuilt for the sole purpose of bearing the Irenitar. The six ships around it bore the transmitters, he guessed. As he looked, another set of feet could be heard coming from the door. It was Enyidar; Namixis assumed this before he turned to look. The Executor was who called the meeting here in the first place, in the quiet hours of the evening. Approaching in the proper uniform of a Sargas member, it was quite apparent that he'd just returned from some sort of military endeavor, probably defending Protoss forces in a skirmish against the Zerg. The Templar's expression held no emotion, excepting a small bit of grief showing slightly under his strictly disciplined face.

"En taro Adun, Namixis." the Templar said with no sign of his grief. "I come with news from the Patriarch, who would have told you this directly were he not busy with other matters. The former pilot of the Zheldhin, Templar Narindel, has refused to follow his orders calling for the destruction of Aiur. The sentiment is well understood, and we would not force this upon an unwilling warrior; he has been excused from the task. However, Artanis and a fortunate number of our brethren understand the necessity, so we well carry out these plans nonetheless."

He was clearly wandering around the obvious point.

"And you require a pilot," Namixis said. "hoping that I would agree to take the task for myself."

"Yes. Earlier you expressed your desire to operate the cannon. Do you still wish this?"

"Hm. Who in all this age would have declined to destroy Char? There is none among us from the greatest warrior to the weakest wanderer, nor even one among the humans who lacks the burning hatred at the thought of the Zerg. Nobody shunned their part in purifying that planet. But this is an entirely different target. You ask if I desire to pilot the Zheldhin, and I tell you this: no. No, I do not want to, but I shall, for the sake of guilt and blame, that these two things would lie upon no other shoulders than my own.'

"That is good of you," Enyidar nodded. "I shall tell Artanis of your decision, but he has already said that upon your agreement the procedures for the cannon's operation should be reviewed. Though your studies of the cannon have been long and in depth, the weapon has changed over time."

In the deepening blue of that evening, in a distant and empty plain that no one saw; the practice began. And once it ended, the peril of Aiur drew closer. In less than a week the focus of the collective hope of an entire race would perish at that race's hands. It was the necessary shame, the plaguing need, their deepest regret. And it was now less than a week away.

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Author's Notes:

- Ah, it's so nice to have an older version of Wordpad. I hate the new version that came with my new computer. It doesn't have "edit - undo". In any case, this is one of my favorite chapters, being as it includes my favorite Starcraft character. Yeah, Aldaris is my favorite. There's something about the way he hates humans that just makes me laugh. Ha, and if I ever magically got zapped into the SC universe and met him, he'd probably think I'm the most annoying person ever.

Anyway, it turns out I have a lot more edited chapters than I thought. Makes me happy. The original version...whooo...not good. When this is done, I'm going to write something new so that you guys know I've actually improved since these times.


	12. Bar None

It was time. All was set. The pylons were ready, constructed and set to explode. The six transmitters were going into position, while all of the ground forces pulled away from the surface, leaving it vulnerable. Even though resistance was heavy, nothing was going especially wrong. The transmitters were charging, awaiting the rushing energy from Namixis's carrier. One final wave of the bloody defenders hurled themselves at the Aiuran invaders, in attempt to eliminate the cannon before it obliterated their conquest. Struggling air units of all three species swirled not quite recklessly in their attacking; they were careful to avoid getting hit in the Zhetacon's imminent fire.

The Judicator took one last gaze at the planet before initiation. It was absolutely ugly. Most of it seemed stained a putrid purplish-grey shade from the creep, excepting the oceans, which were mostly blotted out by the defensive zerg forces in the way of Namixis's perspective. Overall, Artanis was undeniably correct in his earlier description. Aiur had become a large, blackened stone, no more the vibrant jungle it had not so long ago been...though the years seemed many to those who had once seen it green.

A vibrant jungle. Namixis shut his eyes for a moment, trying to remember how Aiur used to look. Beautiful. Especially the jungles he had explored during his youth. His friends often accompanied him when he would search for the elusive bengalaas...all this provoked pure hatred at the zerg for bringing the Protoss to this end, and towards himself for being the one to do this shameful deed. But Namixis would not let any other take his place in operation of the cannon; this sin was his to be committed so that the blame may not be placed on other heavily guilt-burdened brethren. All warriors had felt the pang of Aiur's loss especially; now it was up to a Judicator to claim what guilt was not already taken.

It would do no good to continue thinking about it. Aiur was gone. Instead Namixis concentrated on the task ahead. He had to focus. The job had to be done. There would be plenty of time for regret later on. Without opening his eyes, and ignoring a message from some Terran, probably Akeroyd, telling him to hurry up, he began to channel into the psionic cannon.

The energy patterns once again grew on the bow of his vessel, growing stronger and stronger, quickly becoming ready to destroy its looming target. Strength came from the noble people who lost their homes, warriors that sought to bring back the old times, the grateful strangers who multiplied the Protoss effort, and from those fallen that would never see this vengeance against the swarm's crimes against life. Namixis focused intently, trying to ignore the little thoughts that crept into his mind's depths. He fought down each urge to stop, to wait, to doubt. Indeed, he was so deeply concentrating, he almost did not notice Mengsk telling him to hold off.

"What is going on?" the Judicator peturbly started, utterly bumfuzzled at the sudden distraction.

"There's a base still on the planet!"

"Who? I thought everyone has been evacuated."

"Apparently not. I'll-wait, we're getting a message from them."

"Hey guys," said a very familiar voice. "don't mean to get in your way, but we've got some business that needs to be taken care of. Have a nice day, and thanks for understanding. Raynor out."

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Author's Notes:

- Sorry guys, short chapter today. I never finished editing this story for its second run, and I didn't remember that I moved part of this chapter into the last chapter. And I forgot what I was going to include in this chapter to bulk it out. Sorry. . Please don't hurt me. For this chapter, you may flame me to your heart's content.


	13. Mind Wars

Kerrigan, through the eyes of her overlords, spied the situation with rising anticipation and grim joy. Above her, the Protoss forces had abandoned the endeavor to scorch Aiur. Just as the queen knew they would. It was a close call, but now the Protoss fled back to Shakuras, hoping to get there before the huge mass of Zerg Kerrigan sent ahead only a half-hour ago. But this was not the only saving gimmick. If it were not for Raynor and his crew, Kerrigan's work would come to nothing, and that attack force could only avenge their mistress's death. Still, she always believed Raynor would come, and hadn't even planned on leaving Aiur at the thought of the Irenitar.

_Good, reliable Jimmy."_ Kerrigan laughed. _"I don't see why he rejects the idea of being infested. He's done so well in helping me even as a human._

The Queen of Blades checked on the fight status of Raynor's Raiders. A burrowed lurker revealed to her that they were still setting up their primary base, close to her position. Raynor was here for the kill, and Sarah watched as he prepared to take the bait. She began to he lurker was unable to reveal much more before being quickly discovered and disposed of, but this did not bother Kerrigan overmuch. The hasty humans wouldn't attack her for some time yet.

She paced for a moment in thought, then smiled and approached the ripening chrysalis of Kariv. "Thank you very much. You've done so well already, doing everything I tell you. And wasn't it so easy to bring Raynor here? A few dreams here and there and he's practically on a leash!"

As she came closer to the imprisoned Protoss, she could feel his tension and fear, and also a question. The quivering chrysalis murmured and undulated in a certain pattern. Absorbing the emanations, Kerrigan sensed what Kariv said. She smiled and petted the soft shell peacefully.

"Don't worry about Shakuras. I am not going to destroy it today, simply the psi cannon. No, I believe you've earned the right to show your brethren what the fury of the swarm truly is. And maybe you can find yourself a mate of your own. Oh yes, you'll need to build up a special army to serve me, but I think you shall be favored, above the rest."

The chrysalis gurgled strangely, as if the being inside struggled against the concept of obeying her. It and its despairing contents moaned loudly together, disturbing a radius of zerg into squeaks and yells. They began to run about in fearful circles, pawing at the ground like rabid animals searching for escape from maddening impulse.

"Stop this at once! Stop!"

Kariv did not obey her, instead he increased his psionics to the point where his yelling made the smaller creatures around him writhe in pain and attack the air, as if it might poison them while they inhaled and swinging claws could stop it. Kerrigan even began to grow weary at the powerful emanations. This event, strong beyond the Zerg queen's anticipations, had to be ended.

"Kariv, that is _enough_!"

Kerrigan grabbed the chrysalis, sinking her claws a few inches into its flesh. With her mind she combated the Protoss, invading his innermost thoughts and into his spirit. Pure wrath seeped in and annihilated Kariv's last remaining personality, self-esteem, and will, slowly and with precision unavoidable. To replace these unfit mannerisms, she sank into his mind her hatred, pain, and bloodlust with all her mind's power and lack of delicacy, shredding his senses into shards of confusion. This cruelly brought Kariv to a state of sorrow no living being should ever have to reach.

_"You are a powerful warrior, Kariv,"_ Kerrigan told him. _"too strong for your own good. I had hoped to trust you with more of yourself, but it seems you simply can't handle it. Fortunately there is a solution. I can do what the Overmind never could. I can still your mind."_

The psionic attacks of Kariv shortly became cries for help, to weak to reach more than a quarter of a mile away. Speedily even this strength faded until he could no longer speak, but was consumed by the silence of his own deaf-and-dumbness. Communication was now beyond recovery for the Templar.

"You'll be able to speak later on," the queen added as she removed her claws from the now moderately leaking chrysalis. "Not with the voice you used to have. Something a bit more...human, natural. You will still have psionic power of course. It's necessary to your command. But from now on you're officially cut off from non-Zerg minds. Now, do you regret throwing your little tantrum?"

Not certain Kerrigan could hear him, Kariv did not respond, instead huddling away from her scalding words. Silently he almost cried for fear that she would strike him, if it was possible to weep inside a chrysalis.

"Oh, I can still hear you. You are every bit mine, so don't think there's anything you can hide from me. Now say, or rather think, that you are sorry."

_"I...I am sorry..."_

"For what?"

_"For refuting your authority and...disturbing the swarm..."_

"Now say it correctly, in a complete sentence."

_"I am sorry that I have refuted your authority and disturbed the swarm, my...my..."_

"Your what now?"

_"My...my Queen."_

Kerrigan was fully pleased as she sent the still shocked drones around the chrysalis back to work and once again burrowed the frightened hydralisks. Kariv was turning out just fine, and beginning to display all the wonderful qualities possessed by her other mindless slaves. The Protoss was still a work in progress, but the progress was going very fast. Indeed, in a so much as a week the new branch could be ready to emerge from their cocoons.

"I'm proud of you nevertheless, Kariv. Nothing you do will stop me from trying to change you into the magnificent creature you will shortly become. This is all for your own good. Do you understand?"

The chrysalis shivered in compliance.

"Good." Kerrigan turned away from the Templar and contacted her cerebrate. "Favored, we can no longer risk having all of the infested on one planet. I need you to take Kholus-Adnarim, Kariv, and three of the zealots to Braxis where they can be safe."

"Yes, my Queen."

Admiring the devastated landscape filled with her slaves, the Queen of Blades mused happily over the situation. Raynor was exactly where she wanted him and ripe for the taking, the Protoss forces had exited in haste, and nothing stood in the way of her having twelve powerful new additions to indulge her will. The Raiders would not get away with their foolhardy mission. And speaking of the Raiders, Kerrigan decided to have a little talk with Raynor. She wanted to see if he was ready to join her.

Savoring the thought, she shut her eyes and searched for his mind.

_"Where are you, Jimmy? Come out, come out...oh there you are. How is everything?"_

_"Shut up!"_

Stunned a bit, but not totally repulsed by this reaction, Kerrigan opened her eyes and dropped the psionic link. She would have to concentrate on this. Perhaps she could learn something about his attack strategy. And if he had a girlfriend. Finding a quiet spot behind an ultralisk cavern, Blades tried again.

_"Let's see what he sees..."_

A vision appeared as she found Raynor again. He was talking to a young man named Allen McCalla, telling him to prepare the goliaths. Alexei Stukov, the first of Kerrigan's 'lost sheep', was there, being told to prepare a barrage of nuclear missiles. Then Raynor turned to a middle aged woman, who looked back at him strangely.

"Hey Jim, your eyes are doing that thing again." she said. "I think she's back!"

Kerrigan's vision began to blur as Raynor covered his eyes. "Get a ghost over here!"

Curious about the woman, Kerrigan searched his mind for her name. Hanna Reiges, age forty-one, four foot eleven, stocky...no in-depth facts showed up, so the queen of the zerg dug in deeper. First Lieutenant, enjoys jazz, dislikes cats...finally Kerrigan uncovered what she was looking for. Hanna and James were not a couple.

Startling yells brought Kerrigan back to the vision. Raynor was busy calling her all sorts of things, cursing to communicate the idea that she should get out of his head.

"Jim, sit down! The ghost's coming!" Hanna chimed in. "Try to block her out!"

"What did you think I was doing?"

Kerrigan smiled. Hanna did not fully realize how much power Raynor faced, but he did, knowing he could not block out the Queen of Blades when she wanted inside someone's mind. It bothered Kerrigan when Hanna called him 'Jim', though. Despite knowing Raynor was not attracted to Reiges, she remained in growing hatred of the human, believing something had to be done.

_"Jim, listen to me."_

Raynor cursed and attempted to ignore her.

_"Jim, I can give you power beyond what you now understand. I know things have been difficult between us, but still, I love you. You know it. I love you."_

Those words struck a nerve and it became harder for Raynor not to respond.

_"You don't have to say anything. Look, there's no way out of this. I just want you. There's no need to get your crew killed. Send them away and I won't hurt any of them. You care about them, don't you? They're like the family you never really had, or tight as we were back when Mengsk still maintained the illusion he was a good guy. Remember that? _

_"And I bet you wouldn't like it if poor Allen died. You respect him and his regulation, how he always tries to be the perfect soldier. Isn't it almost cute? Oh and it's fun to hang around Stukov, I bet. We always did enjoy his company in the swarm. A rather pleasant fellow, once you get to know him, and a real fighter. And so...do you care about Hanna? She's a tough bitch. You always did like tough women."_

"What the..."

_"Abandon this funny little quest of yours and come to me. I can ensure your safety and the safety of your 'Raiders' if you just comply. Do you still love me? I know you once did. Wow, was I pathetic then, just doing whatever our precious emperor said without question. And though I knew what you were thinking, I never could simply tell you I felt the same way..."_

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD! And stop lying! If I do what you say now, sooner or later you're gonna destroy my crew. Or have me kill them! I'm sick of you, and I hate you! Why don't you get it? Is it so hard to understand? I hate you!"

_"Well then, I guess you don't care about your friends. Nor do you understand the opportunity here, it seems. Too bad. They'll just have to die today."_

_"You'll be the one doing the dying around here, darlin'. I promise."_

_"I honestly doubt it."_

That was enough. Kerrigan severed the line. She thought a moment about what Raynor's hatred could mean for her plans. It would probably be more of a benefit than anything else, she concluded. It helped the infestation. She remembered how angry she had been long ago, cursing, lashing out at Arcturus...

"Queen!" the cerebrate suddenly exclaimed. "Emperor Mengsk is still here, and remains attacking our space platforms!"

"What? Gather more of the brood wyrms to throw at him. He doesn't know how to stop them yet. Have the drones mutate into several sunken and spore colonies around Raynor's base as well, and add in some lurkers when you're done."

"As you will, my Queen!"

Kerrigan struck a blow on the side of the Ultralisk cavern. It upset her greatly that Mengsk still remained. Why was he staying here, and not abandoning Raynor, who did not even work for him anymore? How could he stay now when he was the same man that abandoned Kerrigan to the Zerg? It wasn't fair.

"Damn you, Arcturus, there's no way out of this one. Mercy is dead. You will not prevent me from getting what I want!"

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Author's Notes:

- Sorry about not updating last week. I needed the break to do other things. In any case, here's the next chapter. I sort of like this one. I like the next chapter a little better, though.

- This chapter does not have a music title from the Another World disc set. I forgot that my second editing of the story added a couple more chapters than the first cd had songs.


	14. The Battle Ensues

From above the base seemed a calm oasis of Terran interrupting the violent Zerg wasteland. The mechanical noise was much greater than the sound of the creep's pulsations, but the busy workers stubbornly refused to quit or even acknowledge the enemy that could put out the base's gently glowing lights forever. In defiance the tiny settlement continued to grow in soldiers and acreage, until it could expand no further without engaging the Zerg.

Raynor's Raiders were set down in a rather fortunate area. It was a valley surrounded by plateaus, filled with four clusters of minerals, and two volcanoes of vespene. Two command centers were already constructed and had attachments, one a nuclear silo and the other a comsat station. Two more were under construction, for the comsat station proved them necessary once the surrounding area was scanned. Nothing but spore and sunken colonies for miles, and much of the jungle in-between held burrowed enemies

"Hey Stukov," Raynor signalled from his position in the main command center. "How are the nukes coming?"

"We still need more command centers," Stukov replied. "but the SCVs have just completed three and continue to build. Two of those three are working on the nuclear missiles, and the last is still working on its attachment. The Zerg won't give us time to make as many as we need, but this is a good start."

"Good." Raynor shifted in his seat, relaxing for a moment. "Thanks for coming, man. You didn't have to be here."

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss this for anything. I have done too much damage while I was infested, and now I stand as the last UED soldier still alive. Really, it is I who must thank you."

"That's cool. Mind if I ask you something personal?"

"Certainly."

Raynor paused before asking, "Did it hurt to be infested?"

"Of course. You don't go through something so demeaning without scarring your inner psyche." Stukov's eyes focused out as he remembered. "It's like...like your life is evaluated on an animal level, and anything that does not fit in the perfect plan of 'zergness' must be purged. I would rather not say how, besides that everything I had achieved was torn to nothing.

"As for physical pain, not so much, strangely enough. But still a terrible experience. Throughout the whole process they send this continuous wave of shocks, or something similar, that part I don't understand very well, causing constant pain that increases whenever you think something wrong. After a while, you begin to feel the sensations of not just your own body, but the chrysalis too. This is very terrifying, especially when I was being transported by a drone."

Stukov unconsciously put a hand to his own ribs. "At the end, it is nothing but the chrysalis, and a numbness that...that consumes you..." Stukov shook his head. "That is over with, thank God. But what do you want to know this for? Been thinking of taking up Kerrigan on her offer?" The Vice Admiral joked.

"No." Raynor almost snarled. "Thanks for bringing it up."

"Calm down. I know you could never do that. You're taking this too seriously, Raynor."

"Whatever. But as soon as she's dead I can calm down."

"Very well, then. Tomorrow we celebrate our victory."

"Oh yeah. I'm up for that."

No sooner were the words spoken when a barrage of Zerg came to prove Stukov wrong. From the west side came the hydralisks and a few scattered ultralisks, while on the east arrived dozens of guardians and brood wyrms, ready for the kill. Tanks on the west side fired ceaselessly at the coming beasts, blowing open small holes in the flood. However, the eastern tanks were useless against the Zerg flyers and forced to rely on the busy missile turrets for survival.

Marines joined in. Several were ended by the acidic blasts of the guardians as they tried to take out the hideous crustacean-like critters, despite the medics' best efforts. Many a goliath's mechanical parts polluted the thinly grassed clearing, leaving the operator to also pollute the ground with his broken body and blood. Raynor called in the wraiths, but they too found the brood wyrms to be devastating. Many of the fat things hit the dust with a splat, yet even more managed to remain in the air, forcing the wraiths to join the fallen. On the ground, the hydralisks had made their way inside the base, running rampant through the buildings. As fast as the inner firebats could torch them, the Zerg were replenished with more.

Finding himself immersed in a sea of his enemies, Stukov cloaked. He began to shoot at the surrounding Zerg, confusing several to prevent them from reaching the command centers. The arrival of the overlords made this a futile effort, and thus sentenced the Vice Admiral to death and a trampling from the snakeish hydralisk movements. But this sentence was not without appeal. Several dullahans played advocate for Stukov, granting him at least a temporary reprieve.

Joining the dullahans were several battlecruisers, blasting away the obese wyrms and guardians that had begun to eliminate Raynor's SCVs. Once an area was clear of living swarm members, a dozen dropships arrived, carrying enough reinforcements to empty the settlement of the Zerg inside. The dullahans destroyed the remaining ground forces, leaving none to fight the Terrans. One last battlecruiser arrived, this one larger and more shielded than the rest, also with four wraiths to shelter it. It hailed.

"Raynor," Mengsk said. "do you have any idea how long it took to get Artanis to eliminate the Zerg here? I'm completely surprised that I haven't started a civil war on Shakuras. Now there's no way I could get the Protoss to go along with the idea again."

"Always the diplomat." Raynor replied, bemused. "So sorry I ruined your plans, Mengsk, but I've got plans of my own that I can't let you get in the way of."

"Jim, can't you see this is about more than you killing Kerrigan? I could've destroyed a good chunk of the swarm, taken out all the infested Protoss, and destroyed this 'Queen of Blades' as well. Then you just had to come in and be a problem, as always. What's wrong with you?"

"Hey man, I can't let you just burn Aiur. And it's not just about me. Tassadar and Fenix were good friends of mine, and there's no way I'd back off and let them lose their home. How did you get the Protoss to almost use the cannon, anyway? If they lose what they're fighting for, how can they fight at all?"

"I had almost forgotten how self-righteous you are," Mengsk snidely commented. "how you would rather let your inhibitions get in the way of progress."

"Look, nobody invited you to this party. Feel free to pack up and leave. What's keeping you?"

"What's keeping me, Raynor, is that the Protoss are gone and so is the Irenitar. They had to deal with a conflict at Shakuras, and since we're now allies I had to send my best general and several men along with them. Now you're the only chance I have of getting rid of Kerrigan, and I'm not letting this opportunity slip. Remember, I hate her just as much as you do, so I refuse to leave until she's rotting."

"Very good, gentlemen," Kerrigan suddenly added. "this is going to be a rather nice family reunion. Wow, has it been ten years already?"

"Kerrigan! How long have you been listening?" Mengsk asked, startled.

"Long enough, Emperor. And by the way, I'm going to have to go with Jim on this one. You shouldn't have stayed here. Now there's only one way your poor Dominion boys are going to get off Aiur. Jimmy, did you have long enough to think and reconsider my offer? Well, being as benevolent as I am, I think I'll add Mengsk's little soldiers to it. What do you say?"

Raynor refused to acknowledge her.

"Not talkative today, hm? It doesn't matter, because you know there's only one way this situation is going to turn out for you. Don't pretend you can defeat me. Neither of you. What you've seen before is only a taste of the devastation I can bring."

The Queen of Blades disappeared from their heads.

"What is this deal she's talking about?" Mengsk asked.

A sigh escaped. "She claims she'll let everyone else go safely if I...stay behind..."

"That's the most messed up thing I never wanted to hear. I'm sorry I asked." Mengsk ran his hand through his hair apprehensively. "But alright then, the sooner she's dead the sooner we can repress the memory. Let's get this show on the road."

It was astounding how many soldiers and weapons the small base could train and build, respectively. Because of the avenging nature of the mission, as few as possible buildings went up, to save resources for invasion. As a great general always said, fixed fortifications are monuments to the stupidity of man. And so it was that a miniature, compared to the Zerg, flood of Terrans now stood in the clearing. The had no trouble in discovering Kerrigan's location.

Everyone was ready. It was strategy time.

In an instant, Stukov and several ghosts targeted nukes on the surrounding Zerg defenses. In another instant, several lurkers dug themselves up from the ground and ran towards the Terran forces. Marines and tanks killed every single one before they could burrow once more under the soil for their spine attack. With several blasts, the first lines of spore colonies were destroyed, allowing free passage for air units to go over the oncoming cliff wall.

Then Hanna Reiges led the dropships in gathering the ground troops and depositing them on the plateau wall. Raynor, from his vulture, led the forces on from there. Solemnly they marched, out of sight from the Zerg base that lined the northward-going cliff. An overlord ventured over to the Terrans, but was soon killed with a scream. Anticipating greater resistance, the forces continued, growing more nervous with each step. Suddenly the Raiders found themselves surrounded by unborrowing hydralisks and zerglings. Lurkers also began to stab from underneath.

"Jim, have your men pull back!" Mengsk ordered. "Don't argue, just do it! Magellan, I need a detector!"

Magellan moved in above Raynor's attacking units and held place its place as they retreated several yards. Dullahans

A cliff ahead supported a large contingent of the swarm, Kerrigan's protectors. Dullahans and valkeries managed to allow the dropships a space to unload.

"Reiges, continue to bring over as many soldiers that can be spared." Raynor ordered. Signaling Allen, he continued, "McCalla, we need more nukes up here."

"Construction's under way, sir. I'll meet you out there in a minute." the Lieutenant responded.

"No you won't. I don't need to risk you getting killed out here, and somebody's got to protect the silos."

"But Raynor, sir-"

"You heard me, Lieutenant. Stay back." Raynor promptly cut off communication. "Kid has to learn sometime..."

Meanwhile the battle raged on, at a somewhat slower pace than expected. Shortly, no zerg remained to spite the Dominion and the Raiders. It was extremely disturbing.

Mengsk stopped the Norad V above Raynor's vulture. "Where did Kerrigan go? I thought you said she was here."

"I don't know, but I'll get the comsat on it. Hold on."

_"I'm still here, Jimmy."_

"Crap..."

"Raynor, what is it? What's going on?" Mengsk reacted, getting no answer.

_"You made a bad choice, so now it's too late. None of you will escape my wrath, not even the ones I select for my own. Since you don't seem to understand that, I thought I'd help by letting you see everyone you care about, and a few you don't, die in the most violent way you can imagine. This is the last time you may resist my will."_

"Oh no..."

With that, the skies blackened and the horizons fogged with the multifarious zerg waves. All light, besides the light of the machinery, vanished into the already darkened air, leaving astounded soldiers to despair for their lives. Few times before had this sight, or lack thereof, been beheld by any. Mengsk and Raynor were helpless to maintain control of the now spooked forces, who began to fire into the darkness almost blindly. Surprisingly enough, several zerg fell in this inaccurate manner, due to the sheer numbers. However, these deaths were drops in a bloodthirsty ocean of the swarm.

But Raynor had only vengeance on his mind. Knowing there was little point in going after the slaves, he searched for the master. James had prepared for too long to let the past decade go to waste. Years of psionic training he had accumulated did not give him any sort of telepathic ability, but still allowed him to trace the emanations of all nearby psionic creatures. There was just one signature he needed to trace, and it was not hard to find.

The engine of his vulture stirred into a roar, gunning it. Deftly it dodged the bullets and bodies strewn everywhere as Raynor intently concentrated on keeping up the chase. A direct hit from a guardian wrecked the vulture, turning it over as it rushed at top speed. Raynor sliced out of his seat restraint with his knife and dived away while his lost vehicle exploded in flame, casting its shards over three zerglings.

But Kerrigan was still ahead. Transport or not, she had to be found. Raynor had a feeling he could find her without the bike's speed anyway.

Fortunately the zerglings were too upset from their burns to pursue the Terran as he ran off over a scattering of rocks and boulders. Or perhaps it was another reason, because none of the zerg seemed interested in him. Too confidently vengeful, Raynor did not give a thought to the fighting swarm, instead pulling out his revolver with his right hand and steadily bearing his knife in his left.

For a moment, James lost track of Kerrigan. Quietly he marched on, halting every few feet to recover the lost emanations. Suddenly a strange thought emerged in his head, and he turned towards his men. Before his eyes, as if a deja vu, the dropships fled under attack, having recently returned with reinforcements.

The largest of the dropships, Hanna's, was bombarded by devourers. The acid pulled apart the vessel's hull, revealing a short woman also hit by the destructive liquid. She painfully ejected from her lost dropship, getting struck by one of the metal pieces flung in its explosion. Though this left a bloody gash in her already acid-scarred forehead, it did not knock her unconscious, allowing her screams to further disturb the distraught landscape.

Even though Hanna was a large distance away and blocked by several zerg, Raynor could see her death as if he was an overlord gazing indifferently upon the scene. Once she hit the ground, Hanna fell prey to a hungry hydralisk who most ungracefully went straight for the crotch. A leg was torn off as its gleaming teeth bit into her flesh. A nearby zergling seemed annoyed at Reiges's shrieking, so it bit right through her throat. Sickeningly, a moment of gasping air from her lungs ran its way to the place her vocal cords formerly were positioned, gurgling against the escaping body fluids. Hanna Reiges was no more.

Knowing he should not have been able to see the spectacle, Raynor tried to shake it off. But another vision soon took its place, one of the swarm closing in on the base while McCalla fired madly.

"Stukov!" Raynor yelled, hoping he would be heard. "get the nukes ready!"

His mind continued to show McCalla's struggle, but it had to be ignored. Raynor knew it was simply a trap for his mind. She wanted him to feel regret, to fall vulnerable to her violent ideas. And to possibly distract. Concentrating against the noises of devastation, successful for a fortunate moment, he detected the low emanations.

_"One more thing, Jim. Mengsk brought up a good question. Why did you stop them from burning Aiur? Don't even pretend that your Protoss friends were the reason; it was a very pathetic excuse. The truth is, you did it for me, and for me alone."_

With a swift turn he was able to raise his knife above and shield himself from infested Kerrigan's dive. The blade struck her shoulder, running itself through her as she landed on and clawed her target. Without too many scratches, Raynor flung her away. She slammed against the pillar of rock she had earlier cast herself from, giving James an opportunity to shoot her repeatedly. More quickly than seemed possible the Queen of Blades charged, mostly unaffected by the bullets lodged within her.

A grunt of pain from Raynor and a flying handgun signaled the renewed vigor of Kerrigan. She ripped apart the body armor as if it were nothing and began to shred his lungs before Raynor could get the knife, still in Kerrigan's shoulder, and twist it mightily. Though he sliced off one of her dorsal claws and rendered her left arm useless, she did not indulge him with any vocal admittance of suffering.

Instead Kerrigan grabbed the knife by the point and broke it in two, throwing the halves aside. Then three times she struck Raynor with her the remaining claw on her back. The first would have sliced through his eyes, but he blocked it, resulting in a deep tear in his right hand that almost severed his fingers. A second strike dug straight into his chest, narrowly missing his heart. Yet the third blow found its destination. The claw ripped Raynor's neck, hitting and rupturing a carotid artery. Gasping, Raynor tried to maintain his balance, failing. He only managed to stay up for a moment before collapsing to his knees. One malediction later, he fell backwards and remained still.

Victorious, all Kerrigan had now to do was enlist a drone to take him away from the battle and begin infestation, making certain to revive Raynor as he began his stay in the chrysalis. Then she would have exactly what she wanted, and no longer would his presence be a threat to her existence. But she hesitated.

"So much anger...such bitterness..." she murmured, reflecting upon his last emotions.

Kerrigan walked over to Raynor and knelt down. She touched his still warm face, contorted in hatred and failure. She gazed on his handsome features, placing his head upon her knees for a closer look. The hazel eyes still shined, even if weakly, their special glow that made Sarah melt on the inside. Kerrigan knew he would die quickly without medical aid, and that she would soon be free from his bitterness, from his revenge, from his influence on all of her decisions. He could no longer be loved.

But suddenly, it did not matter.

_"How...how could I have done this to him...?"_

\\\\\

Author's Notes:

- The violence was too much, wasn't it? Ugh. I was a weird kid when I wrote this. You know how you're a teenager, and you're going through that period where you're all dark and emo? It's so refeshing to become a twenty year old and realize that the world isn't as horrible as you think. And you stop liking violence as much. Becoming mature makes violence seem cheap, and once life itself looks beautiful, death itself is just plain boring. It doesn't mean anything anymore. Well, except for the whole leaving everybody part. That kinda sucks. As much as atheists don't want to believe in God and insist that they're right, it's seems a pity that death is just the end. I like it better as being the beginning of a new life. I mean, heck, would they rather be right or happy?

- I really like writing arguments between Raynor and Mengsk. It's one of the reasons Mengsk's bland portrayal in SC2 was so offensive to me. He's supposed to be Raynor's secondary antagonist, or first if you don't see Kerrigan that way. Valerian is cool, but he's just not Raynor's proper antagonist. Bah.


	15. Tears in Rain

It was an odd sight to behold. Kerrigan, an evil and dangerous creature, covered in all manner of blood-stained spines, sat on the ground with her arms around her unconscious victim. She gently caressed his bruised face, weeping with choking sobs and bitter tears. Raynor just lay there, limp and pale, but still holding a look of complete anger even in his damaged condition. Kerrigan shook her head, not wanting to see yet unable to look at anything else. He hated her, and she knew with everything inside of her that she deserved it.

"Jim...please..." a tear fell on his sleeve.

She couldn't kill him. She should have, for the sake of her reign, but no matter how much her infestation berated her Kerrigan couldn't kill Raynor. It wasn't possible. As he grew colder and colder, Sarah began to realize that the only way to save him now was infestation. And yet that wasn't a real option either; she couldn't force him to experience what she had; that suffering was too much to be borne.

Throughout her time as the infested queen, loneliness had been more severe than when she spent her childhood under the craft of Confederate scientists. They expected her to be the most powerful weapon in the universe as they stole her emotions and stiffened her resolve into the shape of an assassin. Living up to those false dreams, Kerrigan had lost all of her old friends, left with only a stupid cerebrate self-aware enough to speak somewhat intelligently to her.

She did not want another slave. She wanted to be with James, Mengsk, even if just to have the support of a family, something she had never been included in before, or would be again. While her tears collapsed upon the fallen soldier, the battle raged on beside the oblivious, miserable Sarah Kerrigan. Only the explosion of a nearby siege tank woke her from her pathetic stupor.

"Medic!" she suddenly cried out, stopping her broods from finishing off the Terrans. "Someone get a medic over here! It can't be too late...please God don't let it be too late...Jim, don't...don't you dare give up..." Kerrigan pleaded as she tried to halt Raynor's severe bleeding with her unforgivingly cruel Zerg hands. Pulling off Raynor's belt, she began to make a tourniquet for his severed leg.

Stukov arrived first, extremely suspicious. "What is this, Kerrigan? Another trick of yours?"

"Just shut up and get a medic!" Kerrigan screamed and wept. "Oh Jim...please..."

"No," said a new, psionic voice. "There are no medics now, for you have slain them to the last in your heartlessness."

Zeratul, the long missing-in-action Dark Templar, stood before the scene as a condemning judge.

"Because," Zeratul stated stonily. "after this your every waking moment will be torture. You will never forgive yourself for what you have done here. And that, Kerrigan, is better revenge than I could ever have dreamed of."

Terror in her eyes, she paused. Her maw hung open in horror, shaking her head. Zeratul made no move, and his eyes remained dark and cold, entirely immuned to Kerrigan's despair. She shrieked. "No! Damn you! _Damn you! _How can you do this? How _can_ you...?!"

Tears cascaded down Kerrigan's reddening face as she flew to attack the insolent Dark Templar. But something inside her clicked, weakening her fury into uncompromising melancholy. She crumbled just as she reached Zeratul, falling to the ground in the whirlwind of her suffering to clutch the Protoss's thick feet, begging forgiveness for the sake of Raynor. This was it. This was the legacy of the Queen of Blades: a sobbing mess at the feet of her strongest enemy.

Zeratul stepped away from her begging and crumpled form, more than a little stunned by this unexpected reaction. But his heart was not untouchable. Kerrigan could get no sympathy from him, but Raynor was a noble soldier, not deserving this kind of end. Revenge for the Matriarch was not so important an innocent man would have to die for it. The Prelate let the medics by to do their work as he wondered what to do with the sobbing monster on the ground.

A sudden cold wind reminded Zeratul why he had come. Gazing up to the sky, through a small opening in a cluster of mutalisks, a light blinked steadily, shining down fear on the knowing Protoss and his small contingent. Hastily he snatched up Kerrigan by her shoulders, forgetting how disgusting she was as he shook her into sanity.

"Kerrigan! Listen to me. They are here! If Raynor is going to live, you must order you idle swarm upon them now! They are arriving this very instant! Come to your senses, woman!"

So she did, once she realized what he spoke of. The beasts once again fought, but now in a mystic sort of terror that amazed everyone within the sight. They fled towards a strange new enemy, leaving everyone else to evacuate according to Zeratul's command. Raynor was put upon a stretcher and carried aboard the Norad V for superior Dominion treatments. Kerrigan followed him, and no amount of scolding from the Terrans would prevent her from boarding as well.

Stukov, once the Dominion and Raiders were on their way to abandoning Aiur, shoved to get to the Templar for an explanation. "Who is coming?"

"The hybrids, Admiral, the hybrids!"

-t-

Like the blurry blades of a blender making a margarita, the hybrids attacked the Zerg. The red blood gathered and pooled on the creep until it withered away and let spill the liquid on the long covered dirt. Claws, spines and teeth flew into the air above the heads of the hybrids, disguising them from the humans and few Protoss, who were too intent upon getting off the planet to pay attention anyhow.

An ultralisk found itself trapped between two of the blurs, rearing up in hopes of honoring the swarm with the death of one hybrid. But its forefeet never hit the ground. Instead, the large creature shook soundly. Backwards it crumbled, being pierced by its own broken spine, which had been guided straight into the creature's rather small brain. The thing looked as if it had been folded right along its backside. Ultralisks are unable to scream by definition, but the loud grunting and trumpeting this victim expelled as it died certainly seemed to be the rightful equivalent.

The hybrids were coming closer and closer to the Terrans, perhaps drawn by a curiosity to investigate the unfamiliar species. Shouts emerged as some of the humans tried to look at the speeding monsters and determine what these hybrids looked like, as others pulled back their fellows to the dropships in haste.

One marine had no one nearby to stop him from staring. It was captivating, in his opinion, despite being the most frightening stupid thing to do. He just had to see what everyone was so afraid of. As one of the terrors came nearer, the marine realized his mistake too late; his return path to the other Raiders was blocked by unwitting hydralisks who spat their glave wurms over his head. Unable to get around them, the marine simply joined in the fire.

With a sweeping movement, the hybrid took out the hydralisks all at once. After a full circle had been completed, it jumped on the marine, killing him before the foolish soldier could even register his adversary's looks. In seeing this, many of the other marines began to shoot at the hybrid.

"No, no! Stop!" McCalla ordered. "Raiders, halt your fire! Don't attract attention to yourselves!"

Zeratul's Protoss warriors waited until the Terrans were ready to get to their shuttles. Fortunately the hybrids were occupied with the zerg, for the moment. Because their numbers were not large, it only required minutes for the Protoss to return to shuttles and speed away after the Terrans in retreat.

One of the shuttles had picked up a stranger, accidentally. A dragoon had pushed what it thought had been two zealots into the transport ship in the rush. Yet when the mechanical pilot of the shuttle activated and started to launch, only one of them proved to be a zealot.

Some bizarre creature had joined the two. She (somehow they knew it was female) was taller than the zealot, and a beautiful sight like never seen before. She appeared to be a light brown Protoss, with the exceptions of her eyes, feet, and hands. Her limbs seemed more graceful, leading to those unusual hands and feet. They were webbed between the digits, and her ankles and wrists were thinner. And she had true ankles, movable as if human.

Then there were the eyes. Those eyes! Never before had the zealot and dragoon seen eyes more lovely. They shone a peaceful lilac color with specks of silver glittering gently, as if the two eyes were living gemstones. She had nerve cords as well, delightful things that curved around her brilliant yet simply designed blue robes, and were not so long to reach the floor of the shuttle. An expanded forehead, with gently rising ridges, supported these cords.

She was frightened, or so appeared before the warriors, nervously shifting on her feet.

"Are you well?" the zealot asked. "What is your name?"

The beautiful passenger did not respond, but maintained her fear.

"Do not be afraid." the zealot stepped toward her.

Bad idea.

A sudden anger set in. She wrapped her arms about herself. Her eyes turned from flowery to fiery red, and the silver turned to ashen streaks. Her forehead ridges became riddled with spikes, her fingers and toes sprouted claws, and her nerve cords found movement, growing to become swinging tentacles. Deadly spines burst forth from her shoulders, arms, legs...it seemed that wherever an exposed area free of feature a claw appeared. This complete, she towered up, bending to prevent the ceiling from smacking her head. A now hideous creature had invaded, and she was mad.

Zeratul noticed this shuttle fall from its flight path. It swerved down just above the ground, heading straight for a plateau. Zeratul tried to contact it and see what was the matter, but received no response from the ship. It merely cruised into the side of the rock, its explosion hidden by distance as the other shuttles passed it by.

-t-

The nightmare was not yet over for the Terrans up ahead. It almost felt like it as they passed through Aiur's atmosphere into the spatial void. And it certainly felt as if numerous years had gone by after fighting so long on the surface. Weary units all applauded the approach of the stars, that is until they found themselves facing the side of some outlandish craft, blocking the extremely desirable exit path.

This craft was the strangest thing. It was in four horizontally stretching parts. A center part was cylindrical, or almost so, with the three other parts flattened and curved about its flanks, equidistant from each other, and matching its length. The parts were all black metal of some sort, generating strangely bright psionic waves in the space between the sections. This was a curious observation, for it was hard to tell if the main cylinder was actually connected to the three outer shields.

Blasting rapidly with the psionic cluster, the vessel was busy with the furious mutalisks about it. The Terrans hoped the zerg would last long enough for them to get by. However, this was not the case. The thinning swarm members finally collapsed, exposing the fleeing folk. Some wraiths bravely tried to pull the ship away, but with two shots each they exploded, their remains falling to Aiur.

One dropship was destroyed and another injured before the zerg regrouped and attacked again. Scourges flew in first, hoping to put a dent in the ship's defenses while the brood wyrms and devourers followed. But the small bat-like zerg only served to be fried at once, and the other zerg could do little.

Warning the Protoss to avoid that specific area in retreat, the Terrans flew away, relieved for their lives, terrified for their futures.

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Author's Notes:

- And scene. This is actually two different chapters put together, because when I was going through and editing it a second time, I was probably going to add more to this chapter. But that was years ago, and I don't remember what I was going to add. Looking back at it now, yeah, it needs something. Probably something about what happens to Kerrigan. I didn't really clarify here. I hope with all my heart that a later test chapter that I wrote is still on my computer somewhere. I think you'll like it. But before I get to that, I do have one more chapter and an epilogue to get to.


	16. Epilogue

Artanis sat there in the darkness, his face in his hands. The bare floor was chill, but went unnoticed as the Patriarch trembled. He shook inwardly as his mind, while recognizing the terror of the times, was unable to clearly think of any recent event that had caused him such pain.

Unable to meditate, Artanis carefully got up, still shaking at a constant pace. He walked toward the window, attracted by the weak lights of the city. Despite this weakness, they still revealed a sandstorm readying in the distance, beyond the lit borders of Telematros. This same sand that had stirred the calm of Mengsk elsewhere now increased the shivers of Artanis, making the Protoss turn away.

He noticed for the first time the cold of the dark room as he moved back toward the inner wall. Pausing to restore his composure and stop the trembling, Artanis then headed for a barely visible console on the wall. Someone had to make record of these events.

Computer entry: 433a

Things have fallen apart for those who resist, for we who were once strong enough to stand against the powerful Zerg, became so weak in a matter of moments.

The warriors that had been sent to Aiur to destroy it never completed this mission. Part of me thanks the gods that this is so. Judicator Namixis brought back our warriors and the Terran Dominion General John Akeroyd came to help when a mass of Zerg invaded Shakuras. Much of our planet was salvaged by this quick return. However, it was not long before we guessed that the swarm's main plan there was to eliminate the psionic cannon. They succeeded. Four of the generators were destroyed before they could land. One of the generators made it, but the last and the main control section were lost when two of the carriers crashed upon a fortunately unpopulated area of Shakuras. Namixis and the pilot of the other carrier were injured and are presently in medical care; they should be well in a few days.

After several hours of battle, the Zerg upon us scattered and were defeated. Fearing another onslaught, we remained on edge. But the swarm never returned. Though we knew Mengsk and most of his soldiers were still upon Aiur, as well as Raynor's Raiders, we did not fully understand the situation until much later.

It was still vengeance that drove James Raynor to pursue Kerrigan in an almost blind fashion, even preventing our own plans in the hope he alone could destroy the foul queen. Mengsk has adopted a noble defense of Raynor's character, saying it was also for the friendship of our lost heroes. Kind as this is (and strange, coming from the emperor), it is doubtful. Few people, human or Protoss, have reached the level of utter bitterness the soldier Raynor has, and none doubt his pain was not the true reason for his actions.

Though I now refuse to believe purging Aiur was the correct thing to do, Raynor has suffered in retribution for this hatred. Kerrigan has almost killed him, and now he remains outside consciousness in a stasis cell, making his way to the Terran city New Oldham for treatment. His condition is critical, and many are concerned for his survival. I know not what Mengsk intends to do with him should he awaken.

One of the concerned, strangely enough, is Kerrigan herself. She is weakened, not only by the wounds given in the fight with Raynor, but from turmoil of her own. I cannot pity her, no matter the trouble she has experienced, but Zeratul believes that Kerrigan is consumed in the conflict between her remaining spirit and Zerg influence that has tainted her mind for so long, and also the pain of her past. It is indeed strange that the Overmind could not calculate this weakness in his own slaves.

Right now she is headed for New Oldham as well, borne in stasis. Kerrigan will not be uninfested, at least not yet, for Mengsk believes her mental state can be used to manipulate the Zerg for the protection of the sector, and Zeratul partially agrees. Nothing I ever have heard sounds more foolish, and Mengsk can sometimes be defined as a fool, but I trust Zeratul's judgement. More than my own, perhaps.

And yes, the Dark Templar Zeratul has returned from his wanderings among the stars. I have tried speaking with him, but he is...not entirely well. It is understandable, of course, with recent events. He does not wish to talk of his wanderings in the least bit, only saying 'I have gone places both strange and familiar yet discovered nothing I had not previously known'. His words grow more obfuscated of late.

The depression Zeratul goes through has been long lasting, ever since he had trusted Kerrigan when she claimed she was no 'mindless murderess'. He takes the many deaths it caused to heart, especially Raszagal's, for it was at his hand that our Matriarch fell. How could Zeratul, or anyone, have done otherwise? Raszagal was beyond help of any sort; he could only kill her or watch her become one of the creatures we despise so greatly. However, we do not consider that as enough to make the noble Templar suddenly disappear. Even he denies this. He says all will be explained later on, when the Dominion and Raider leaders have all gathered. Zeratul does not wish to speak of it more than once, and until then maintains his silence.

It involves the hybrids. These...these things that have invaded Aiur are supposed to be genetic crosses of Protoss and Zerg. This is swiftly becoming too much. First we can be infested, and now we are hybrid? Who could have done such a thing? Perhaps Kariv knew something we do not, as Namixis claimed. Samir Duran could very well be the cause. I should have asked Zeratul concerning; even if I had received no answer, his reaction would have meaning.

For now the hybrids are quiet. They have eradicated every Zerg that once corrupted Aiur, except for those that managed to escape with the chrysalises of our infested brethren. The Terrans detected the exit of five of them, and later on Zeratul's departing scouts noticed two more that made it past a hybrid vessel. A third was killed in the attempt. The last four are assumed dead.

With the Zerg gone, the hybrids do not progress, at this time. But they are not inactive. From afar we have noticed that the fields long covered by creep, and now bare of the stuff, are starting to regain the green color of flora. How is it that creatures so destructive can also create?

I worry for the future, especially for my own leadership. Formerly, I had hoped that Zeratul would claim his authority and relieve me, but he leaves this responsibility to me, claiming age and bitterness have stunted him. I do not shirk my duties, but...why are they mine? More experienced and older people are available...It is too hard to know how to act, how to lead the Protoss out of this plaguing darkness, despite age.

Tassadar was not so old himself in his destiny.

But is this mine? Too often I think of joining the warriors on the battlefield. I had not done so for many years, since the Zerg had last forced themselves upon Shakuras, and I channeled the powers of the Uraj in the Xel'Nagan temple. Perhaps I could follow Mengsk's example of late, how he now follows his forces...no, that was for the protection of the psionic cannon. Nevertheless I shall seek an opportunity to guide the warriors to victory.

The hybrids must have a vulnerability. Weakness is a necessity to any imperfect being. Unless these are the perfect beings the Xel'Naga intended to create...if they have succeeded where our origin believed we had failed.

There must be a way...even if it requires my life.

Patriarch Artanis.

Artanis ended the entry there, due to the growing trembles that trickled from his mind. He sat again on the stone floor until the shaking could subside, or at the very least ease its hold. For several minutes he just sat there clutching his knees, trying to calm his mind and empty his painful thoughts, very glad that no one could see their Patriarch in such a remarkably unstable state.

_"It must be the stress,"_ Artanis guessed. _"Perhaps some sleep will...help..."_

Still not fully relieved from the shaking, Artanis got to his feet to leave the dark citadel room. Unsteady in his steps towards the door, a sudden faint feeling crept upon him, further taking away his control over his physical self. As his numb legs gave way to falling, he grabbed the nearby windowsill to stop from hitting the ground. Artanis concentrated on breathing for several minutes, working up the strength to continue.

But once again his eyes led to sandstorms in the distance. The dim light still revealed the tremors of the land, wildly disturbing the landscape and Artanis's mind. Why was this typical movement so depressing? Staring at it for many moments in wonder, a time passed before he realized the trembles and numbness had departed.

\\\\

Author's Notes:

- So this is the end of the main story. If you've noticed, a lot of the time the Zerg have won the day. That is because this is the "Zerg missions" of what would have been a trilogy. Next up would have been the Protoss missions, and I did do a little bit of work there. However, it never felt good. It felt wrong, contrived, and I just for the life of me couldn't figure out what the Protoss or the humans would have done next to stop the hybrids. Already the hybrids have been shown to tear up the Zerg, and the Zerg just destroyed the cannon. How the crap are the Protoss supposed to fight these people?

In any case, there are a couple more chapters to go. I'm going to show you the beginnings of the Protoss missions, and then go into the notes of what would have been afterward.


	17. Karazdan

"Do not fear the Zerg," Enyidar had told him. "They are still under Kerrigan's will, but she is passive and her ego is destroyed. She will allow us to command them, but she is unaware how many of the swarm are alive in Aiur's solar system. While Karazdan has ever been a place the Zerg stubbornly held, there is no telling if they will survive this current threat. What I need from you, Adorin, is to take a detachment and determine how far outwards the hybrids have spread from Aiur, and if possible use the Zerg to hold them back. We have no information, little time, and dwindling resources, so it is important that you stop them long enough for better defenses to be prepared."

But Adorin had his doubts about the plan. It was impossible to think of the multi-clawed and heavily drooling monsters as his allies, especially after the previous attacks. And how did they know Kerrigan could be trusted? However, Adorin had his orders. There were few options and the Templar knew Enyidar was doing what he could in trying to utilize the Zerg as a shield on Karazdan. If the Queen of Blades was true to her word, it might work.

Karazdan was the last planet in orbit around its star, only barren rock devoid of atmosphere. Few Protoss had ever wandered into its vast caverns. Mining there was not profitable, and until the invention of the warp gate Karazdan was much too distant for Templar training. But for the Zerg it had been paradise; the endless network of caves and caverns was a place of safety and easy defense. It was the first planet to fall when the Zerg invaded.

So now Adorin's Templar detachment, consisting of a squadron of scouts, two of corsairs, and a dozen carriers was heading for the crater-beaten planet. Traveling quickly through the stars the wary Protoss kept constant scans going of the surrounding areas. These scans were of little avail; beyond a point they were fairly usely, only detecting major stellar bodies. Though they needed speed, caution forced them to a crawl. Adorin couldn't allow the hybrids to hide beyond the sensors and attack with little warning just for haste. But the extra time allowed his mind to wander, and to fear. He recalled more of his conversation with Enyidar.

"How am I to hold them back? On Aiur the hybrids plowed through the Zerg as one would a field." Adorin mentioned. "We need many more of our own kind if we are to stand a chance. I fear the Zerg here will be able to do little for us."

"While that is a concern, it is a risk we must take." Enyidar had replied quietly. "And sadly enough, our brethren may be little better to face the hybrids than the swarm. But do not fear them; fight as bravely as ever you have done. Your quick thinking has saved your forces on many the occasion, and I have no doubt that it will serve you well here. I only ask that you do this in the realization that there is little else we know to do in resistance of these creatures."

"I understand," Adorin humbly replied. "However I do not wish to be helpless when we inevitably face them."

Enyidar smiled. "You could never be helpless in battle, my friend."

But traveling to a futile planet at a snail's crawl seemed to prove the situation different. While the Templar wasn't subject to paranoia, the possible logical conclusions to this event weren't very optimistic.

_"Of course,"_ Adorin thought. _"The situation will not be better for those we leave behind should we fail. And even if Karazdan is held, it might even turn out that we are encompassed as prisoners in those futile caverns while the light of Shakuras darkens. Ah, that ever the Protoss would face such a day!"_

"Approaching Karazdan now." a scout interrupted. "Wait, something is amiss here. This cannot be Karazdan..."

The other Protoss were inclined to agree when the giant globe came into view. It was not the crater-damaged rock they had all envisioned earlier, but a vast green spread out over miles of continents. And from out of nowhere huge oceans were formed, a brilliant deep blue curving wide across widespread coasts. Instantly the Protoss reviewed their navigations and information about Karazdan's geography. Yes, they had indeed made it to Karazdan's location, and yes, this life-filled planet had the same mountains and plateaus, now hills and flatlands, as the original dead world.

A sense of apprehension made Adorin cringe at the sight. This was no work of the Zerg, and nothing short of an odd miracle.

"What sort of mischief is this?" the Templar exclaimed. "Are the hybrids truly this capable, if this is their doing? Hinndas, transmit all of our current scans back to the main fleet at once. Shakuras must immediately be made aware of what we discover here. Document every precise climatic difference and contrast it to the former statistics on record. Do this quickly, for I fear that every moment more we spend here is a danger."

His orders were obeyed at once. Multiple scans of Karazdan entered the computer database, including various kinds of maps, cloud cover, ocean depth and span, and of course the detection of any living beings. Only various trees, plants, and birds populated the new Karazdan. There were no signs of hybrids, but with the way the sensors had been operating earlier, some guessed that the odd creatures were there, hiding.

"What now, Adorin?" One curious corsair pilot signaled his question. "Shall we leave now and join the fleet, or will we explore this discovery thoroughly?"

"Neither." came the reply. "We are here to press back the hybrids, though with so few number and no Zerg it will be a near impossible task. At the very least we must find the hybrids and send back their position to Enyidar, that he might be informed in the changes in situation. If he bids so, we might explore with caution. Not now. We have an imperative-"

"Adorin!" his carrier pilot suddenly spoke. "Our sensors are beginning to crumble and we are losing main power!"

Without bothering to investigate the problem further, nor needing to, Adorin gave commands. "Access the auxillary power source and divert it to the engines! Prepare the defenses and get in formation. Be ready to engage the hostiles!"

And he was right. Three large hybrid ships, more of the odd cylinders, approached from different sides and were followed by volleys of smaller fighters. And as they closed in, the Protoss vessels began to slowly shut down, one system at a time. Engines were the first to go, seconded by the weapons. Only a few corsairs managed to fire a few futile shots at the hybrids, and those that did were instantly destroyed by the larger hybrid vessels. The rest of the detachment was frozen and helpless, left with only their life-supports operational.

For once in his life, Adorin didn't know what to do. No fight, no flight, not even the simple luxury of communicating to the other ships was possible. _"They should kill us now and be done with it, unless by some twisted scheme we are necessary." _Adorin shook his head.

"Our carrier is beginning to move..." the suspecting pilot noticed. "The other ships stay in position, but we are now heading through the smaller enemy vessels towards Karazdan's surface."

"Attempt to alter our course, Perez. Perhaps if our power is restored, we can steer from their control."

Almost frantically the carrier's crew worked the controls. Slowly the ship began to shake, twisting against the hybrid control as Perez managed to pull away. The shakings increased in intensity, and pounding sounds began to echo through the ship. Only seat restraints kept the Protoss from being flung around as the quaking forces played with their vessel like a rattle toy.

"Adorin!" Perez exclaimed over the tremendous noise. "I believe we are starting to break free from their control, but escape is dou-"

Bursting from his controls, an explosion of sparks and blew into Perez's face. More sparks and smoke began to pour from various other panels, hiding the crew from Adorin's sight. Alarms of hull breaches and internal fires flowed through and filled the many rooms of the carrier, plunging everyone in a deep confusion. Through the nightmare of lights, noise, smoke, Adorin could still detect Perez's struggling psionic voice.

"We can still...make it..."

The ship made a sharp turn starboard and with a second blast of sparks the rumbling stopped and all controls faded, broken beyond use. And as the smoke began to clear to a low fog, Adorin could see the lifeless corpse of Perez at the controls, along with three other Templar in the bow of the craft. The survivors immediately attempted to help their injured and discover what had happened to their craft.

"The hybrids no longer steer our course." one Templar, Zoldin, commented from what was left of the navigation systems. "However, nor do we. All controls and engines are lost, but we are still in motion. If we do not gain control soon, the gravity of Karazdan will pull us in and we shall burn to death."

Adorin, deeply frustrated, ordered, "Immediately have technicians discover and repair whatever is wrong with thrusters, if they can! There is little hope we shall fix them in time...but nevertheless! What is it with these hybrids? If they so desire to slay us, why not merely fire their weapons? What is this futile struggle all about?"

The commanding Templar himself joined in to help gather the injured, but even as he began to walk he sensed that something was wrong. His eyes went out of focus, and it felt like the floor couldn't reach his feet. The very air was stretched and thin, and everything blurred. The other Protoss, noticing the change, called out to him and Adorin could vaguely see Zoldin's outline running towards to reach him. Zoldin came nowhere near before everything fell into a white haze.

This cloud of freezing mist sent intense psionic jolts through Adorin's mind; it began to work its way through his thoughts and memories, implanting itself wherever it could. A powerful electric stench permeated the air as the cloud thickened, leaving the distraught Protoss without sight or smell, and probably sound as well. Only silence could penetrate the cloud, deafening and shrieking.

How long this lasted, Adorin couldn't tell. Hours of terrible pain passed in his mind within the space of a minute, leaving him completely detached. But Adorin stubbornly resisted. Trying to force away the fog by the power of his dizzy mind, he shut his eyes and hoped for the best. Almost at once his head was clear and the air thinned to the consistency of a cool summer day. A fresh breeze swept lazily by, bringing with it a fresh flowery scent. Somewhere in the distance a lone bird sang.

Adorin, more suspicious than ever he had been, opened his eyes and observed. He was in a dense jungle, more dense than that of Aiur in his memory. Surprisingly enough, it was pleasant. Trees grew above his head, thicker than hundred year olds and covered in at least two hundred years worth of vines, all fresh and green. Little white flowers hung from their shaggy boughs, and great orange blossoms burst underneath in regulation lanes of bushes.

The Templar noticed that it was strangely quiet. All that symbolized animal life was the constant peeping of that tiny bird, which had flown and landed on a bush twig to investigate the new intruder. It was a brown eggshell color, streaked with pale spots along its wing. A light belly of down shivered with the bird's voice, now a frightened bleat. Softly it sprang away from Adorin and towards another figure, one that arrived without speaking. A large hand opened up, and the small bird landed lightly on a large finger.

The hand belonged to a hybrid who appeared to be female. She looked remarkable similar to a Protoss and even slightly human, but Adorin knew the deception hybrids held. This one observed him for a moment, then quietly sent the bird flying away to its nest. Shifting a sleeve of her plain green robe, she spoke with only contempt.

"The bird is innocence." she said, her words slightly marred by an odd accent. "It is afraid of you, but it does not fear me."

Adorin stood distainfully in silence. He was in no mood for contemplating animal behavior.

She watched his reaction, then blinked. "I am Ellerion. You are Adorin, and you will follow me."

Ellerion turned away and started to continue deeper into the jungle. Adorin felt no need to follow until he looked behind himself. Just barely visible in the shadows of trees stood a small group of hybrids, much more threatening than Ellerion. While they didn't speak, their purpose was clear enough. With a heaving sigh the Templar went along behind the female.

The destination was not clear. In fact, it seemed Ellerion was just wandering through a vast garden of sorts, meandering through lovely flowers of many kinds. Fields of orange blooms interlaced from tree to tree going miles to Adorin's right. Underneath them were small white clusters of tiny flowers growing proudly with less sunlight. To his left, tall blue and red blossoms swayed in the wind, growing for several feet until they reached a rocky beach and its adjacent ocean. Ellerion would always tell him what kinds of flower bushes or trees they passed, even though they were familiar to Adorin. A few of the specimens had once grown primarily on Aiur, and the Templar had vaguely heard of certain ones growing on Terran worlds. Not that he knew much of botany on any planet.

"This one is the day lily, called so in English." Ellerion said as she approached a certain bush bearing large, five-petaled flowers. "This species never bloomed for more than a day under human care, though they tried so hard, those cute little Krisnas. But it is nice, once it matures into a larger plant."

Adorin decided against asking what a "Krisnas" was. "What is the point in all of this?"

To which she smoothly replied, "Patience, patience" and continued to talk about another bloom, this one something called a hibiscus. The Templar supposed that it must have been near two hours of the tour when he finally interrupted Ellerion's long speech, realizing it was a worthless rant.

"Madam, while all of this is very well and good, there are more important things to discuss. Perhaps you will speak how you now hold the lives of my brethren in bondage nearby. What do you intend to do with them? I assume that you have brought me down here for some sort of negotiation; that if we are to live you will require something or some task of us. Let it be known that we do not desire conflict with you. Peace for us is necessary-"

"Are you quite finished?" Ellerion interrupted in a bored tone.

"-Necessary after the Zerg-"

"Are you finished now?" she said louder.

Adorin silenced. Ellerion would only accept one answer, and it didn't seem that she had been paying much attention to what he had been saying anyway. Sternly Adorin folded his arms, waiting for the hybrid to explain herself or at least give some sort of response to his comments. She said nothing. Seeming pleased when the Templar stopped talking, she turned and wandered ahead on a dirt trail, pointing out a blue-petaled blossom that grew humbly along the side.

"And these," Ellerion said. "You know of. They grow and blossom only in early springtime on Aiur, or used to. Now it is always spring there for them, unless it is summer..."

Not certain he had the patience to take more of this, an upset Adorin stood crossly in position, letting the hybrid get well ahead. This was maddening. Adorin couldn't stand to hear more of this botanical talk, much less understand the odd things she described on Aiur. Her tone was the same as earlier; this was just a continuation of her tour. Remembering his carrier, he looked to the skies to find any trace of burning in the atmosphere. From behind he could see something in the clouds, but the Templar couldn't tell if it was his vessel or not.

"Adorin. You are still to follow."

He gave no answer, still deep in thought.

"Adorin!"

Responding with a grim look, he turned to her.

"Come."

Reluctantly he followed. His feet seemed to drag with every step, but soon he was subject to Ellerion's droning description of flower after flower, tree after tree. Adorin didn't listen to a word. She probably noticed this, he guessed, but still didn't care. For an indeterminable time Adorin put up with her meaningless speech, yet it was a comfort to know that they were now on some sort of path, which had to lead somewhere.

After some time, the flora parted and made a clearing. The ground was dark and rich where the plants ended, but the clearing's soil proved that this was indeed Karazdan. It was dead and dry, eroded by many centuries of meteroids. Adorin, out of patience, immediately turned to Ellerion for an explanation, just in time to catch her in a terrible act: yawning.

While Ellerion had looked mostly Protoss on the way, now her more horrific side was revealed. Stretching, her mouthless face revealed two large lips, parting slowly over rows of long teeth, sharp and deadly. A long moan crept out of her depth, sending a shudder down Adorin. He cringed and turned away, trying to ignore the frightening sound. Finally it was over, and she seemed ready to talk.

"Negotiations, Adorin, are of little worth to either of us." Ellerion spoke.

Facing her, the Templar was surprised to see two dorsal spines waving gently in the calm breeze. They weren't wing-like, such as Kerrigan's, but resembled bony tentacles or shriveled snakes weaving in the air. Trying not to let them disturb him so much, Adorin ignored them and concentrated on what Ellerion was saying.

"I know your purpose here." she continued. "Was it not to take control of the Zerg that were once here, direct them against us, and hold us back until your masters could put in place their defense against us? Oh, you are here for war. Do not speak of peace or negotiations, in fact do not speak at all unless I directly ask for your input.

"Now, you believe that the time spent looking at my garden is time wasted, but I do not agree. For you have seen Karazdan as it once was, and you see it as it is now. It was under Protoss control before, and what did you make of it? Nothing, absolutely nothing. It was a training ground, a minor ore facility, an ignored resource. Now, under the Enbrechi, it became mine, for it was given to me as a present, a very nice one indeed. Now it is pretty, now it is livable to the fragile animal creatures and Krisnas that cannot breathe outside of atmosphere.

"Does this not prove to you our greater worth and perfection? I say that with no pride, only with the simplicity of that bare fact. The Zerg that which crumbled you so easily was even more easily defeated by us when we first set foot on Aiur. I am certain at least a few of your soldiers were witnesses there. The Zerg stood no chance, and fell with little resistance at our hands.

"Then you came today very foolishly thinking to destroy us. You learned better of it by now, if it is not too much to be hoped for. Like the annoying creatures you are, you sent data back to your general of my present. Enyidar was his name, no? Perhaps he will understand the power and perfection of the Enbrechi through that, perhaps not. No matter. Right now your highest concern is to your comrades above us.

"The carrier you once rode would have borne your entire crew to the surface and they might have witnessed my gift in its beauty and my people's clear superiority, again I do not claim this in pride. However, you chose to resist our call. Now those of your brethren are lost, and they will burn, well, by now they already have. Not for much longer. My people above with be certain to prevent the litter from reaching my work and marring the loveliness I have brought here."

"This is nonsense!" Adorin scornfully exclaimed. "What in perfection allows you to so wantonly destroy another race?"

"Be silent!" Ellerion snapped, raising her spines and once again showing her gleaming jaws. "And learn a thing from your better!"

She settled down, but her dorsal spines remained in attack position. "Understand this. The bird that you saw earlier was flawed, imperfect, as are you. However, the bird is patient, and can accept and adapt to different circumstances. It never let out so much as a peep of anger when I took it and its siblings from their little twig nest. Their reward is now a peaceful home, one free from fear.

"Yet the Protoss have much. They are intelligent, more so than the bird and more powerful than the bird also. And I hear from them nothing but complaints and see nothing from them other than attacks! You have worthy genetics; I cannot say otherwise without being the hypocrite. But it has all gone to waste. Your masters the Xel'Naga had great plans for you. What have the 'mighty' Protoss acheived? Your own destructions and the destructions of the Krisnas you were set over to protect. You knew your duty to your lessers, and yet you can accept our superiority over you no better than the humans could accept your superiority over them. Pitiful, and therefore you have been judged no better than the humans. Be glad that the Zerg and not your race have been judged for doom, yet that option is not gone, be aware. There is still time to prove to us your humilty, and you must do so, for weeds are destroyed when they grow in the garden.

"As for the crew that you individually given charge over, Adorin, they depend upon your answer now. I ask you, why should you live? What purpose can you now serve to offer beauty and light and safety to existence?"

And she stopped, waiting. Adorin was taken somewhat aback. He wasn't used to this kind of inquisition on his own race. Thinking, he believed the Protoss should live because they were created, and nothing created is useless. He wouldn't give that answer, though. Ellerion would only ask what made the Protoss useful. Achievements all passed through his mind. A sticking thought was the Aeon of Strife, ancient wars that stung every living Protoss even to that day. This history stuck in his mind, no matter how hard he tried to push it away. Because of that war the Templar were divided between the high and the dark; because of it the Xel'Naga had disappeared.

Ellerion was still waiting.

"You spoke of pride." Adorin slowly began. "You claim that you are not subject to it. A lie, nothing more. For this situation here is only the precedent that will be set in your dealings with Protoss, and my action will reflect on more people than I command, a little. You say you have it set in your mind that you will destroy the Protoss entirely, for we, as you claim, are neither 'perfect' like you nor 'content' like the birds.

"But pride. By your pride you think that because you have acheived much, or because you are of Xel'Naga work, you have the right and authority to decide which species in this universe have the right to live. Alas no, you are not a god, in the least sense, and only they are ones who can truly create and can truly destroy. Maybe you think this garden, this 'gift' qualifies you. While impressive, you have not the power to bring forth the smallest single celled organism from entirely nothing. Therefore, you are without right to condemn the Protoss. You are no better than we are, we 'failures' as you would have me believe, for you are subject to the gods. And under the gods, no sentient is greater than another, for we can all be just as easily destroyed or benefitted by them. You are very proud, and it shall be your downfall."

Ellerion shook her head, perturbed and disappointed. "No, no, that's not the answer to my question. It is an accusation, and that is not what I asked for. You must learn to answer correctly when authority asks you input. But I am curious." She walked slowly towards Adorin, staring deeply into him with a powerfully cruel gaze. "What do you mean by truly destroying? Do you mean to wipe from existense, or to kill, to convert into nonliving matter? Do you mean to bring down to the smallest particle? Which definition here would apply to your soldiers now?"

The hybrid lifted her hands to the sky. As she did so, the other hybrids emerged silently from the shadows, mimicking her movements. The clouds darkened, swirling tightly into a hurricane shape. A blackness formed in the middle, widening and spreading over the entire landscape and tying itself into the corners of the sky. Stars appeared, as well as Protoss and hybrid ships. Power had been restored to the Protoss, and they now flew quickly around the enemy vessels. Confused, Adorin didn't know what to make of it.

"It is a vision." Ellerion pointed out, disgusted at the Templar. "A vision of reality. See what your folly has cost your brethren."

Adorin could see his followers avoid crashes and fire tiny specks of light. It didn't seem to do much good. Lightning psionic power erupted from the great hybrid ships, consuming each corsair, carrier, scout with a brilliant blast that blocked out Adorin's view for a few seconds, then cleared again just in time for the Templar see another noble fighter explode to his death.

He lifted his arm desperately, knowing he couldn't reach them. Numbness began to eat away at his nerves, and his hand dropped useless to his side. His legs began to shiver gently, failing to support as they should. The vision grew more faint with each reluctant blink of Adorin's eyes, but his eyes smiled, shining a pleasant blue shade.

"They fight..." he murmured. "I am...glad of that."

"To what end?" the response came. "To death and your precious destruction. Understand now? You should have answered my question. You could have said that you were good as pets, and been humble. Or you might have said as gardeners and keepers of my present, and been humorous. Or you could have said as fertilizer, and been correct."

One swipe. Ellerion's left dorsal spine struck Adorin in the neck. For one terrifying instant, he was trapped between numbness and the pain of his bleeding injury. The right followed quickly behind, finishing the job. Adorin fell lifeless, inevitably splattering his blue blood on the grey dust beneath him. A minute passed, then his psionics left him, dissolving his body in the typical mist.

"I've always liked Protoss deaths." Ellerion mused to the other hybrids as they approached. "No body to serve as evidence or create extra obligation for a funeral. So convenient. Probably the best thing we ever got from them."

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Author's Notes:

- Actually, I heard once that the Protoss flash in their deaths, they're really recalling away from the battle so that they can be fit into dragoon suits. I don't know if that's official, but it does sound a little more plausible than an alien just exploding into light, which is what I assumed before.

- I made up a whole philosophy for the hybrids, who I've named the Enbrechi after the german word "enbrechen" - it means to break. I'm dang proud of my conception for them. People in general think that the Xel'Naga were nuts for trying to create the perfect race, but I like to think that they (or rather, Samir Duran) planned everything from the beginning, and the hybrids really are the optimum race, combining the survivability and adaptability of the Zerg with the creative power and sentience of the 'Toss. Just something that was completely off the wall and totally more serious than simple destruction.

- In case you're wondering, Krisnas means anyone of the lower level sentient species, according to Enbrechi philosophy. This group includes humans, cerebrates, the overmind, and surprisingly, the Xel'Naga themselves. According to the hybrids, all these races are responsible for protecting animal and plant life as far as their abilities extend, with also a few more specific goals per race. Because the Xel'Naga are the best of the three, they completed their goal of creating the hybrids. The Zerg completed their goal of absorbing alien DNA. The Enbrechi aren't very familiar with humans, but they're pretty sure that humans have failed at their goals.

However, the Enbrechi are far more forgiving of humans than they are of the Protoss. The Protoss "were gifted by the Xel'Naga with the firstborn right", and thus have more responsibilities than any of the Krisnas. They were not only responsible for lower species such as plants and animals, but also the Krisnas, including both the humans and the Zerg. The Enbrechi feel that if everything went optimally, the Protoss would have guided the humans into peaceful assimilation into the Zerg, or else trained the humans to be more responsible to their lesser species.

As you can imagine, this makes for a pretty hard place to start. Where do you go to start a fight against the hybrids from here? They're so dang optimum. However, I was involved as a clean-up writer for a mod called Sons of War, one that ultimately failed due to various things, but most of all the upcoming Starcraft 2 - who wants to play a mod on original when the new stuff is coming? However, I did insert some of my philosophy into a map. I'm certain that, if the mapmakers had finished up the Protoss missions, that this ultimately would have been cut, at least for length. That's why I'm comfortable showing it to you.

Oh, and in case you're wondering who Tormidal is, she's a Protoss created by the Sons of War crew, who is a young, up and coming leader in the Protoss. Our modeler, SgtHK, actually designed a gorgeous picture of her, and if you google "Tormidal" you will see the work of someone who really deserves to work at Blizzard. Just watch out while you're googling. It thinks I mean "toroidal". Oh, and Phobos and Deimos are our hybrids (I don't like those names, but I came too late to have any influence on that), Sardallah is more or less an extra, and Gauros and Cerus are other Protoss who would have been around in other missions.

So anyway, the excerpt.

-t-

Sardallah: Centurion, we have lost contact with Gauros and Cerus. This place is eminating some sort of psyonic disturbance that interferes with our communications. I doubt that we shall be able to reach them until we emerge from this cavern.

Tormidal: I should have expected something like this. But no matter. We are warriors, and as long as we keep our wits about us, we shall be able to handle whatever circumstance awaits us as we go further in. There is little way of knowing what traps that may befall us before we encounter them, so utmost caution is required.

Be brave, my noble soldiers. This is the last day the threat against us shall remain.

in-mission

*Tormy and her bunch reach the second last part of the map, and it's an exit from the hive (namely, a beacon in a room).*

Sardallah: Centurion, this transport appears to be non-operational.

Tormidal: It does? Hm...I know a little about this sort of technology. Let me see...

*The player brings Tormy to the beacon, which then warps her to the last part of the map, which is "outside", beautiful, full of trees and neutral critters. No Zerg.*

Tormidal: What is this? ...It is beautiful...

Deimos: It is what I have been trying to show to you all along. Though my methods may not have conveyed my true intention clearly enough. My seeming alliance to the swarm no doubt brought on negative connotations. That could not be helped.

But this is the truth, plain and simple. I did not come to destroy and to conquer. Had you come with me to Kaia you would have seen it sooner. Indeed, I know that Aiur is close to the heart of the Protoss. My kind is able to restore it in such a way that even if every last shred of life had been torn from it, it could become better than the Protoss remember.

Tormidal: *taken aback* I...I cannot lie to you. If that is the truth...then...

Deimos: Then it would be unwise not to trust me. I promise you, none of my kind have any interest in Aiur or whatever else belongs to you. We have no need. We came to make this sector a place of beauty and of peace, for those are two things that have long been forgotten. You are a witness to that, Tormidal, and you see what is before you now. Will you allow me to continue this project unhindered? Do you finally begin to see what it is that I have in my heart?

Tormidal: ...Yes...I believe I do see. You like plants.

Deimos: Excuse me?

Tormidal: All that you have said and done here is good, I suppose, but what about what you have done elsewhere?

Deimos: On Kaia-

Tormidal: No, that is not what I mean at all. You, Deimos, have done much to make this planet look lovely, but you have shown that you care nothing for the people of this sector, be they of whatever race. When you speak of "peace and beauty" you mean only of plants - and possibly animals. You would do anything for those, but when it comes to people, you have very little problem disposing of them. The only thought you give them is that they are a nuisance to your aims. For planets you have a future; for sentients, you do not.

Deimos: *tone darkens a little* That is a redeeming quality of flora and fauna, that they do not object to my influence. Had you accepted my offer, Centurion, then you would find that I do not require slaves or servants. You would be allowed to live as you see fit. You would have an abundance of gardens, natural resources, and leisure. Why is it that you cannot accept what we have for you?

Tormidal: You desire control. Deimos, you are a conquerer, and no different from the other conquerers this sector has seen. You are not unique.

*the fight that Torres mentioned, where they fight and Phobos saves Deimos*

*Phobos dies*

Deimos: No longer shall I show mercy to you, Centurion. You have rejected my gift, and Shakuras shall suffer for it.

Tormidal: Not so long as I exist to protect it!

Deimos: Do you think I have worked only within your sight? I have already taken many worlds. I depart now, and when I return you shall die, you and the other fools like you. My mercy is at an end. I shall come back not long from now, and then I shall not have the pathetic Zerg at my back, but the mighty fighters-artisans that are of my blood and mind.

*Exit Deimos*

Tormidal: *frustrated* Why is everyone I fight a coward?

Cerus: Centurion? Are you there?

Tormidal: Cerus! Quickly, Deimos has escaped. Have we any means by which to trace him?

Cerus: Regrettably, no. It is as if he has disappeared. We cannot trace his location.

Tormidal: And what of the Zerg?

Cerus: They are acting strangely, but they are not too troublesome. Deimos has already destroyed Kerrigan, so many of them are aimless. Though a few of them are retreating to Kaia, where Kerrigan's prize cerebrate remains. We have cut off their retreat, however, and expect that few of them will survive. I have already recovered your forces, and transport is on its way now.

Tormidal: Very good. Though I fear for the future, at least we have accomplished something this day.


	18. Conference in the Caverns

General Akeroyd was silent. The huge, dark hallways were too grim for his taste. The lights were high up and dim, constantly flickering; the doors he passed were looming and silent panels, woven intricately with time-worn Protoss runes at the edges. John shuddered, wondering what the inscriptions could mean. He shook his head and ignored it, catching up to Mengsk, whose steps quickly echoed ahead.

"Man alive, what's this place?" Akeroyd asked. "It's somethin' out of a horror movie or the like. I don't see why we have to come here."

The Emperor was focused on other things, as indicated by the deeping furrows on his brow. Annoyed thoroughly for the interruption, Mengsk let out a tense sigh before quickly responding, "What, did you expect them to come to Korhal? They're giants. Where are they supposed to stay? And as for going to Shakuras, I'm not certain we're so welcome over there after what happened on Aiur."

"Nah sir, most 'Toss I know are cool about it."

"Maybe they'll tolerate us, maybe not. I don't take unnecessary risk." Mengsk flatly uttered. "Anyway, this place is probably the most neutral one in the universe right now. Artanis said the Dark Templar stayed here in these caves a short time just before discovering Shakuras and that temple on it...he didn't go into a lot of detail there. Anyway, once they left they never thought to come back until about fifteen years ago to store resources."

"Huh," Akeroyd mused. "It doesn't seem like Procol II would be good for much else. Kinda dead out here."

"Which makes it all the better to keep Kerrigan here. It's not important to anyone, so none of those pathetic rebel groups will bother coming here and accidentally freeing her."

From ahead, a marine approached. "This way, Emperor. Artanis and Zeratul just made it, and they're waitin' for ya now."

The general raised an eyebrow. "Who's Zeratul?"

The cave air only sounded footsteps for a moment. Intently the Emperor tried to think of where he could have first heard the name. His face contorted in thought for a few minutes of silent walking.

"I don't know..." Mengsk was reluctant to admit. "We'll find out soon enough."

The hall twisted to the left, becoming more like a cavern and less like carved walls with each footstep. Echoes became more pronounced and the doors disappeared, leaving only the natural irregularities expected underground. A stalactite hung low in the overpass as the cave widened, looking remarkably like an uvula hanging down the back of a huge mouth, Akeroyd noticed. A small creature flitted about the cave's ceiling, hiding just out of sight in the dark. John followed it with his eyes, noticing that it was following them. His hand clasped the revolver at his side, ready to eliminate the threat.

"Leave it alone, John." an irritated Mengsk spoke. "It's just a bat."

"It's comin' after us, man..."

"It's curious, and that is all. Leave it alone."

"Alright, here's the door." the marine pointed out.

Akeroyd turned to it, then almost jumped out of his skin. This door was worse than the others earlier in the hall; it was a single panel of intricately carved stone. The immense boulder was round, and the faded Protoss writings spiraled and shrank towards the center. However, it was on the other side of the doorway, and the three had no chance of moving it.

"Ah man, how're we supposed to get past this?" Akeroyd wrung his hands desperately.

The marine sneered. "It gets opened on the other side, Johnny."

"Nah Tim, what if...what if the Protoss are gonna trap us in here?"

Mengsk couldn't believe what he was hearing, but tried to maintain his patience. "The Protoss would have no reason to do that. Are you telling me that a general that has bravely faced countless Zerg in several battles is afraid and paranoid in front of a door? Get yourself together, Akeroyd."

"The Zerg are stupid animals, we all know that. But we don't know what could be behind the door. And it's just that...ya know, there's really something here...somethin' _evil_ in this cave. I can feel it."

With a resounding smack Mengk's palm hit his forehead. Sarcastically he replied, "Yes, Akeroyd, there is evil in the cave, and it goes by the name Kerrigan. That's all."

"Dude, I mean sir-"

"It's only Kerrigan!" Arcturus snapped, finally getting John to shut up. _Of all the possible generals in the empire, I get the one who is still afraid of the dark. Just great._

It was an extreme relief when the boulder began to move. The huge stone rolled to the humans' left, pushed by two zealots. Akeroyd even seemed to relax when it began to move, his claustraphobia for the time being relieved. Mengsk and the marine passed through the door without problems, but John turned around to get one last look at the night creature that still lurked above. It had settled down and was quietly watching with its tiny, gleaming eyes. The hideous thing was focused soley on Akeroyd as if waiting for him to make one false move.

"Akeroyd. Come on." came the patient order.

"Uh, yes sir."

Behind them the huge stone door was closed, rolled along grinding against the dust of the cave. The zealots calmly shoved it into its place then stood a quiet guard on both sides, becoming like massive stone idols watching over the grave of an egyptian master.

The symbolism was not lost on Akeroyd, who shuddered with repulsion. "Well, you know Kerrigan's not gonna get out of here...and maybe-"

"That's enough." Mengsk said more calmly than he felt.

The present cavern was a sight much more pleasant than the halls. For one thing, it was properly illuminated. Lights of ancient Protoss make accented every few feet in the carved, rectangular room. Besides the huge stone door behind them, another double panelled door loomed ahead, by which Artanis stood. This room was the only one thus far that had furniture, consisting of just two long benches that extended lengthwise along the walls.

On the left bench sat a curious old Protoss, wrinkled and grave. Unlike the more youthful Protoss, there was no glow to his eyes, only a faded glimmer remained to reveal his immense concern. Given the figure's simple garb and and the obviously missing nerve cords, this person was easily guessed to be a Dark Templar. He turned silently to the humans as they entered.

"Greetings, Emperor," Artanis said politely. "This is Prelate Zeratul. He can tell us more of the hybrids and their nature."

"Greetings." Arcturus said as charasmatically as he ever did. Turning to Zeratul, he continued. "I hope you have some good news for us."

"I have precious little to tell, regretfully." Zeratul answered. "Not much good nor bad. Though this past decade I have been searching for them, only recently has anything been discovered about the hybrids. They were quite difficult to find-"

Artanis stepped aside from the forward door as its panels receded into the wall. Four marines immediately entered and filed inside along the wall. More footsteps echoed from the other side, as well as many sharp orders to "Move!" or "Get in there!" as a seemingly reluctant subject was forced to go along.

A grim shadow darkened the floor between the doorposts, along with a half-pitiful, half-disturbing sight. Kerrigan stood before them, now a crumbling image of her former terror. Her two dorsal spines were slouched, and one was short and dull, only partly regenerated after her fight. Weak yet hateful glances shot out from under her downturned eyes and her walk was slow and unmotivated. She didn't even hiss when another four guards came in and shoved her roughly to the room's center.

"I have requested that Kerrigan appear before us, everyone," Artanis said. "That she may share with us what she has learned as far as attack patterns and behaviorisms from the hybrids since their arrival, if she is willing to comply."

"I am willing, Templar." She weakly scorned. "Yet before I say a word I want to know everything Zeratul knows. My swarm has been beaten down and destroyed in protection of you and I have been nothing but obedient to my most _gracious_ captors, so I expect the complete and total truth out of you in return, at the very least."

"You have not been treated any worse than you deserve, Kerrigan." said Zeratul in spite. "In fact if I had my will in better circumstances you would not have lived a day past your capture. Be indeed very grateful of the hybrids, for it is only their presense that keeps you alive. As things are, I shall inform you of this. Now go and sit; speak nothing until you are called for. Then you shall hold nothing back or else I shall swiftly bring your end...with the permission of everyone in the room."

He looked around at Artanis and Mengsk as the latter four marines pushed Kerrigan to the right bench, where she clumsily sat down on the oversized piece of furniture. Neither spoke. Artanis gave Zeratul a curious look while Mengsk watched Kerrigan with an intent and suspicious eye.

"Heck, Zeratul," Akeroyd said after feeling a bit ignored. "You could go ahead and kill 'er right now, and I sure wouldn't care. Go for it."

"Be quiet." Mengsk ordered, somewhat more strained than his usual demeanor in front of Protoss.

Zeratul's eyes shined in almost a smile before he continued. "As I was saying, information about the hybrids was hard to come by, though I somehow managed to discover them, through rather absurd means. I had detected Protoss power signatures emitting from a dark moon, but upon landing I found that it was a Terran base operating with Protoss technology. To this day I do not know where the technology came from. A small human contingent was using pylons, stasis cells, and even a few photon cannons, and within the cells were Protoss and Zerg test subjects in what I later discovered was a hybrid experiment, consisting of two High Templar, an archon of light energies, and several zerglings.

"I quickly had the stasis cells destroyed and saved our brethren, using the Terrans my archons mind-controlled." Zeratul paused to glance at Mengsk, who didn't show any sign of being upset about mind control usage. "Upon eliminating the last squadron, I found a hybrid creature in cryo-hibernation, and that is where I spoke with Duran, one who has betrayed all of us at one point or another."

"That bastard!" Kerrigan exclaimed, jumping from her seat as the eight marines raised their rifles and aimed as one. "He left me alone right when I needed him most! Three fleets and he couldn't-"

"As I recall, Kerrigan," Mengsk sharply interrupted. "You won that battle without him. Now sit back, shut up, and stop your complaining. Please go on, Zeratul."

Warily, the Dark Templar waited for the infested woman to sit before he spoke again. "Very well. Duran immediately dismissed the idea of Kerrigan's influence, claiming that his experiments were determined before the births of stars and that he was living for a similarly long period of time as a servant of some sleeping power. He also said that his hybrids were set on numerous worlds, and that they could not be found and killed before they awakened."

"Did he speak of what would happen once they awoke?" Artanis asked.

"Only to say in his oddly obscure manner that the 'universe will be changed forever'. However, he said another thing that was very much disturbing and I am not certain I understand. Apparently, Kerrigan is greatly responsible for progressing his efforts."

At the mention of her name, Kerrigan immediately sat up and responded, "Don't ask me! I mean, he probably just stole my minions from me when he had the opportunity." she scrunched back down on the bench. "I can't believe this..."

"Hm, in your greed you thought you could use him to conquer the universe," Mengsk said. "Just like you either controlled or terminated everyone else in your mad quest for power."

_Hey,_ thought Akeroyd. _That's just what Arcturus was doin' awhile back, I think, with the psi emitters and all usin' the Zerg to get the Confederacy. I guess since he's done the job of raising Blades after them Confederates messed her up, like father like daughter. Only worse now cause she's Zerg._

_Well said, General._ Zeratul replied. _But perhaps best not said aloud._

_And Protoss aren't the only ones who read thoughts, you idiot._ Kerrigan scowled. _Don't you dare say anything like that ever again. I am not _**anything **_like Arcturus._

_You are in no position to make threats._ Artanis inputted sternly. _That is quite enough from you._

Noting the sudden odd look on Kerrigan's face and her intent pouting, Mengsk became confused. Mengsk turned back to the others and noticed Akeroyd who was trying and failing to look unknowing. Guessing that something was going on behind his back, Mengsk looked from face to face for an answer. No one said anything. Akeroyd stared at the floor almost guiltily.

The Patriarch shook his head, becoming more and more irritated. With a deep sigh, he said, "Well...I believe it is about time our guest told us what she knows about the hybrids. Please speak up, Kerrigan."

"But Zeratul isn't finished."

"I almost am. There is nothing much to tell, besides that I have wandered this universe for the past decade seeking out answers that would not be easily discovered. Duran perhaps had thought I would destroy his creation, but I did not. Instead the attempt was made to study it, which failed miserably. In trying to remove the hybrid unready from its cell, it at once dissolved into a psionic mass. Until about two weeks ago, there was no sign of any more of the sleeping creatures. I wandered under the theory that perhaps Duran wanted me to see the hybrids earlier, yet only that once. It is in very recent times only that I have rediscovered what was lost.

"On another solitary moon we found two hybrids, each quiet in their cells. With the data provided us by the technicians earlier controlled, we were able to access files on the precise genetic structure without harm. But for us that has done little good, for the time of pause and hibernation ended before our eyes after only four days.

"While still remaining the chrysalis, a glow began to consume the hybrids. Aura pulses gently began to stir, lifting the night's darkness somewhat. It was an interesting development; I cannot doubt the curiosity was strong. It proved fatal. For several moments the glowing continued, and there was no warning when a flash of power enveloped those nearby. The subsequent explosion released the hybrids, both quickly ran away, too quick for following. At this time I took my force and we raced for the Korprullu Sector, but we were distant and arrived mere moments on Aiur ahead of them. This is the end of my pathetic tale."

"What happened to those Terrans you mind-controlled?" Mengsk asked.

"I sent them to Raynor. It seemed he would have better use for them."

"Oh." Mengsk lightly said. "Very well, then. What about the genetic structure you said you had? I'd like to get send it to Magellan if I could."

"You will have it. It has already been sent to the computer of your battlecruiser." Zeratul's eyes shifted from Mengsk to Kerrigan. "And now, Kerrigan? Do make yourself worth the cost of sparing you."

"But you still aren't done, are you?" she curiously looked at him. "Are you sure that's all? I think you may have forgotten something...important...hm?"

"No, I have not."

"Kerrigan!" Mengsk warned. "That's enough."

"Alright." She sat up, irked but humble. "There are two kinds of hybrids, the large and the small ones. Or the small ones could just be younger, I don't know. They look fairly similar to the Protoss, except a little taller and with retractable spines and claws, even a mouth, which they tend to reveal when angry. The smaller ones are like zerglings in attack power, fast and unified, but also can hurl psionic pulses at air units. And the bigger ones, they can move at a speed only just slower but tend to stick with short range attacks, both air and ground. I could go into further detail, but you wouldn't understand without having fought them yourselves." Kerrigan immediately sat back and clammed up.

"That is all?" Artanis asked. "What about the gardens?"

"What gardens?"

"Templar Adorin was sent to guide your Zerg on Karazdan to defend us while we made more lasting battle plans. He arrived finding no Zerg and a planet full of assorted plants and deep oceans, where previously there had been nothing but desert. We lost contact a short while after receiving scans of the planet and have heard nothing since. What can you say of this?"

"Nothing." Kerrigan scoffed. "You forget, all my forces in the area were already destroyed by then. I saw nothing."

"But I did." Mengsk piped up. "I sent several wraiths out to scan as much as they without provoking the hybrids, a difficult task, believe me. They confirmed the increased presense of plant life. And on Aiur, it was almost impossible to know it used to be infested. I don't know how or why, but they've been doing what they can to actually improve what they conquer."

Zeratul asked, "Is it that hard to guess their motives? I can see three possibilities. First, resources. No one, not even these supposedly perfect hybrids can move without fuel. They work to restore their depleted coffers, which is why they have paused before coming into the Korprulu Sector. Second, I would believe that Duran's arrogance is enough for him to create a race always intent on improving its superiority. Third, strategy. If we had the ability to beseige the planets they have already taken, they have set their battlefield according to their best options."

"So what you're saying is," Akeroyd slowly mentioned. "Those guys are only gettin' ready for the next wave. Once they're done, they're gonna tear through us til they prove their point about bein' the best. And we ain't gonna survive the point, that right?"

"Precisely."

"Um...so what do we do? I'd vote nukin'em but we don't have enough of the stuff to do that."

"We just don't know enough about them!" Artanis complained as he began to pace.

"We do know that the Zerg are fairly ineffective against them." Zeratul persisted. "And what are the characteristics of the swarm?"

"Ranged attacks," Mengsk began, intently concentrating. "Acid attacks, mostly mass forces as opposed to detailed strategy. Any special unit abilities are entirely chemical and biological. Possibly their psionic ability renders Zerg attacks ineffective."

"Oh shut up." Kerrigan spat. "Don't talk about ineffective when you never had to really fight the hybrids. And if psionics was the problem, we never would have taken Aiur."

"Ah, shut up yourself." Akeroyd returned. "I don't see you comin' up with any kind of solution."

"And I don't see you remembering the most important part of all of this! You don't even know what the hybrids gained in taking Aiur!" Kerrigan almost charged up to Akeroyd, but was pushed back by the marines. She halted, but continued her accusations. "Artanis! I expected you to know. When the Overmind first set tentacle on Aiur, what did he first take away from the Protoss?"

Artanis stopped his pacing and gently spoke. "Sit back down, Kerrigan. We can do without more of your outbursts." He waited until Kerrigan had unwillingly obeyed before answering her question. "But yes, I believe I remember. It took the khaydarin crystals."

"So now the hybrids have them. I'd be willing to bet that they know how to use them in ways we can hardly imagine."

"The Khaydarin crystals?" Mengsk asked. "That's what the Xel'Naga used to accelerate your race, right?"

Zeratul sat up curiously as Artanis answered, "Yes, these crystals were used. We to this day do are not aware how, even after many centuries of study." Turning to Kerrigan, he proceeded to ask, "What do these crystals have to do with the hybrids?"

"Well, I figure that if you need them to make Protoss, you're going to need them for a hybrid with Protoss genetics. I'm sure you know what kind of powers those crystals hold, and if Duran can use them to make hybrids, I'll bet he can use them to make the hybrids even more powerful than any of us can face." Kerrigan sighed. "Another reason why disguising himself as a pathetic servant helped him in the end. And now that the hybrids have Aiur, they have the crystals."

"All of them?" Akeroyd exclaimed. "This story just keeps gettin' worse!"

"Stop displaying your stupidity!" Kerrigan hissed, letting fly a spray of saliva. "Didn't you hear me? You need those crystals to make anything with Protoss genes. That would include infested specimens. I had three crystals moved to Braxis for study, and they're still there, hidden in a chamber of caves well below the surface. You may have burned my planet, but underneath they should still be intact. Only one way to find out."

"There is a problem with that conclusion." Zeratul mentioned. "Quite a few, in fact. How do we know that you have indeed hidden the crystals? Is it certain that the hybrids know of these crystals and will seek them out even if they do? By what can we trust that anything you speak of is the absolute truth?"

Kerrigan opened her mouth, but couldn't think of a response. After a moment of shaking her head and persuing thought after thought, she threw her hands up in the air and said, "I...I don't know. Look, even at this moment my swarm is almost half-destroyed, and the rest of it doesn't look like it's going to last a year." For a moment, the Queen of Blades looked like she was going to start crying. "Please, I'm...just throwing things out there. What other options do we have?"

Zeratul's accusations were derailed as he tried to think of an alternate plan. Mengsk gave Kerrigan a sidelong glance before going to his own musings. Pacing again across the cold stone floor, Artanis was more confused than ever, but he tried to think of alternate strategies, different battle arrangements, but nothing came to mind.

Akeroyd was intent on making himself useful. He knew the Emperor was fairly annoyed at the job he'd been doing lately, and considering all of his extended absenses and reactions from small cave animals, John didn't disagree completely.

"Hey wait...I think..."

Everyone looked at Akeroyd with expectancy.

"Uh...shoot, I lost my train o' thought..."

The others returned to silent consideration, and Mengsk began to rub the nerve on his forehead that was beginning to throb.

"Alright! I got it again. Hey Artanis, you know anything about the fight that went on between that, um, Adorin guy and the hybrids?"

"Some recordings of the between-ship transmissions have been recovered."

"Okay. This ain't much, but what about listenin' to them again to check and see what they did. You know, the stuff that worked to keep the hybrids at bay, the stuff that didn't. It won't tell us how to act, but it can help us fight the bastards. Heck, and if them crystals can help us dismantle 'em at the genetic level, I vote we get 'em, for all my vote's worth. Be sorta like nukes, except with psionic power or whatever."

Zeratul was almost astounded. "You suggest that we employ possibly the most dangerous mineral ever created as wildly as a ghost would detonate a nuclear device? Absurd, even were it possible! There would be no way of determining what that kind of power, once realized and released, could eliminate!"

"C'mon, all I knew about them things before today was their name. I'm not a mineral-ologist, or archeologist or whatsit. Gimme a break here."

"However undetermined it may be," Artanis sighed. "It is perhaps our best option to discover what power the khaydarins may hold, or even prevent the hybrids from having them, at the very least."

"That much is certain." Zeratul finally agreed. "But the khaydarin crystals are not to be used lightly. Even if they can be used for other than their purpose of creation, it may prove fatal to attempt assault with them. Do you understand this, Akeroyd?"

"Yeah, I'll chill about it."

"Good. Now Kerrigan, where are these caves you spoke of?"

She answered. "I couldn't tell you the exact coordinates, but they lie near the top polar area of Braxis. A segment of my swarm already is positioned there, just in case you made this decision. All you have to do is find them, and I show you the rest of the way myself, that is, if you'll let me out of here...temporarily, of course."

It was quite obvious from the rolled eyes and glaring expressions that she wasn't going anywhere.

"Fine, fine, just give me a few moments to speak with the cerebrate and I'll arrange for a guide to show you. Hmph. Just tell me when this will happen. Oh, and by the way, you had better come prepared. The hybrids won't like it when we take what they need...or perhaps just want. I don't know."

"Oh, I think you do know, Kerrigan." Mengsk stepped toward her. "Don't even pretend you didn't know what was going on when the Protoss first came to burn Mar Sara. And you know now. You haven't gotten any less powerful. They want the crystals. Why?"

"Like I said," Kerrigan said carefully, playing gently with her claws. "They probably know the true meaning and uses for the Khaydarins. Not that I could say anything about that, but...it's still not safe for them to have any of the crystals, much less all of them. I swear that's all I know so you can stop your badgering now. All of you."

Mengsk gave one final sinister glare before stepping back. Calming down, he said to Artanis. "Alright Patriarch, I think we've all had enough of her for today. I'll have my forces begin search for this hive cluster she claims is there, then resources will be evaluated for what exactly we can do on Braxis. I'll see you later. Nice to meet you, Zeratul."

Zeratul only nodded.

"Arcturus...wait..." Kerrigan stood up despite the guass rifles around her. "Jim...how is he? Is he...?"

"He's still comatose with no signs of change." Mengsk never seemed so cold. "Critical condition, totally dependant on machines for his life. Happy? Now come on, Akeroyd. We have a mission to prepare for."

The zealots solemnly shoved away the round door, and Tim the marine led Mengsk out. Akeroyd, confused and apologetic, walked along unsteadily behind his emperor. The boulder rolled one last time, shutting with a grinding and a thud. Kerrigan noticeably winced as it closed, then settled back into a somber grief, folding her hands before her.

"Kerrigan." Artanis said.

She ignored him and sniffed quietly.

"Kerrigan, it is time for you to return to your cell."

A weary smile broke out for a grimacing instant. "Yeah, yeah. Come, my entourage, we must gracefully depart the scene."

Sniffing louder, she got up from the bench, wiping at her eyes. Obediently and without comment she paced away, not minding the shoves and cursing from the marines. Almost certain that she would try and attack, Artanis kept a concentrated watch on her as she was forced away. But she only turned back once to blow back a half-hearted and sarcastic kiss. The door shut, and a relieved Artanis relaxed and turned around, finding a highly aggravated Zeratul standing behind him.

"You told him." the elder Protoss stated.

"What?"

"You told Mengsk of the Xel'Naga! Is nothing sacred to you? What made you think he needed to know anything about this matter, or any of our history at all?"

Artanis, taken aback, tried to excuse himself. "I...I thought that the better he knew of the situation, the better he might help."

"The better he might...nonsense!" Zeratul shook his head. "To think you would consider a thing. It is done now, to whatever end. But you should have been warned before about Mengsk. His danger is in knowledge and the more he possesses, the worse he can become. I hardly see how you have tolerated Mengsk. Alas no, you did not hear as much as I have heard from Raynor.

"As bad as that might become, there is another matter. For Kerrigan is worse than he, and guesses more than she shows. In her trechery she has unraveled a hint of the truth, that I did not speak all that I could have. And if you will not fail to keep this from the emperor, I shall speak of it now.

"During the time away I discovered something I never thought to find: one last temple of the Xel'Naga, intact and alone upon a desert world. Unlike the temple here and the one that was once upon Aiur, it is small and has no readily apparent purpose. Yet I felt an ancient spirit there, some strength left to it that can likely be of use. Though it seems the worst possible moment, I shall leave again. While I have the knowledge of Shakuras's temple, someone who has studied Aiur's must come along as well. The Judicator Namixis and whomsoever he might name to help will go."

"But...you shall leave me without advisor!" Artanis exclaimed. "You have only been two days from your travelings, and you go out again? I was indeed hoping that you would stay, for authority of our brethren should not be mine."

"Indeed?" Zeratul observed the passionate young Patriarch. "It has been given to you."

"What good have I done? The times grow only worse despite everything I do. Even you are angry with me, and our brethren doubt me."

"Ah, that is the question. What good has anyone been able to accomplish? What good have I or any other Dark Templar or High Templar done? What good did Tassadar do if none of us live to remember him? Also, who would our brethren not doubt? Those questions should be foremost from your thoughts, Artanis. They are not yours to answer. Instead continue as you have, striving with every movement to save our brethren. To this point in time, you have made mistakes, but I believe you know what you are doing, for the most part. Two things you must do, and that is to avoid doubt, for at this time it is poison. Second, say no more to Arcturus, for he is a fool. Do these things and you shall be well. Now come, we must depart for Shakuras."

Zeratul gestured to the zealots, and once again the stone rolled from the passageway. They both began to leave, quietly speaking of Zeratul's departure for the lost temple, and quietly their padding footsteps echoed in the hall. Suddenly a malediction and a threat sounded from ahead in the hall. More shuffling and yells were heard, then another curse. As the noise faded away, the clank of a marine's boots hit the walls. Tim the marine, shaking his head, was coming back down the passage, headed back for his guard duties in the caves.

"Hey Patriarch," he said as he met the two Protoss. "General Akeroyd says he'd really, really appreciate it if you would get an exterminator to get rid of the bats in here."

"His concern is noted, Timothy."

The marine nodded, then disappeared behind the stone door.

And well within the inner chambers of the intricate caves, Kerrigan smiled a hidden smile at the animal's antics. Yes, her latent powers had been at work again, and she was glad to know that she still could influence the more harmless creatures of the K-Sector. She was also glad to know she could still see through a certain Protoss's mind and eyes. With a certain contentness she barely noticed the different rooms and halls she came closer to the stasis cell awaiting her, finally entering a large octagonal chamber.

It was filled with all manner of Terran and Protoss technology, all provided to control and pacify the Queen of Blades. While some said she was humble and didn't need it, most knew better and tried their best to keep their prisoner subdued. Little did it work, little did they realize.

"Alright scum," one of the marines snarled as he opened the cell. "In you go."

Kerrigan made no noise of resistance or pain as she was rudely injected with mind altering substances and tranquilizers, then shoved hard into the cell. Only a small whimper escaped her lips as she hit the back glass lining the cell, rubbing at a potential bruise. That was all she had time to do before a powerful stasis field incapacitated her body, but not her mind.

_"Hm." _she murmured without voice to herself. _"I like Zeratul. He gives good advice and has always been useful to me. Such a good fellow at heart to take me from Aiur when my entire grief was an act. Ha, the poor fool, and so unbelievably easy to take! Too bad I have to abandon a good help like him to the Enbrechi."_

A marine guarding her commented, "Man, I hate this job. Watchin' over a cell...no beer..."

"Hey, at least it's just an hour til next shift. You brought the cards?"

_"Ugh, they should consider it an honor to guard me," _Kerrigan snidely remarked. _ "After all, it won't be very long now until I'm gone."_

She began to concentrate. Penetrating the cell, the caves, the atmosphere and into the stars, her psionic call sneaked out. Searching every planet where she detected Zerg, she managed to find one who would answer the call. And it was answered. A small, grunting sham of a voice slithered back to Kerrigan's mind, aknowledging her.

_"Yes, my Queen?"_

_"Ah, cerebrate, it is good to hear you again. I'm surrounded by idiots, and it's time I made the plans for my escape. Listen well, cerebrate. I have convinced them to go after the Khaydarins, and that will be the perfect time to come and fetch me from this captivity. Then we can leave this sector and let our good friends deal with the Enbrechi any way they want and live to fight again."_

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Author's Notes:

- Now that I think about it, Akeroyd is way too dorky to be a general. Just so unprofessional. But I do like the bit where he's interacting with the 'Toss in his thoughts. Lol. This chapter represents my struggle to get something just DONE with the 'Toss missions. I just had nowhere to go, and it was a huge effort to figure out the whole Khaydarin crystal thing. But because I don't know what they do, I don't know how to make them effective. Bah humbug.


	19. Descent to Braxis

General Akeroyd mindlessly shuffled the seat controls in his dullahan, both bored and apprehensive. Long waiting played against him, allowing thoughts of worry, failure, and annoyance to spring forward in distraction. He batted away the whispering emotions inside, trying to concentrate on what was ahead.

But what was ahead? Having been absent from the first battle with the hybrids, Akeroyd had very little personal knowledge about them. Just his luck Mengsk had to join up with the Protoss again and send his general out in extremely unfamiliar and devastating circumstances. In his boredom Akeroyd surmised that hybrids probably would not be able to prevent the allies from succeeding, due to the sheer numbers against the mysterious beings. Then again, if the hybrids were as powerful as the others on Aiur had claimed, none of the soldiers or warriors could make a significant difference, except to get themselves killed.

This was another thought tucked away into his mind's repression. Akeroyd turned his mind to happier things like killing Zerg, drinking with his friends, or talking to that cute girl back at New Oldham. An intriguing distraction was the futile pursuit of remembering her name. After a few futile attempts, Akeroyd gave it up. Despite his forgetfulness, her lovely face and dark hair remained, a beacon in dark circumstance.

_"Hm, if I ever survive all this Zerg and hybrid and crap, I'm gonna look her up. Man, hybrids of Zerg and Protoss...Imagine who'd be stupid enough to do somethin' like that!"_

"General," the comm system interrupted with Enyidar's voice. "We are approaching the surface of Braxis now."

"Alright, let's grab and go home! Initiating landing sequence."

After Braxis was hit with the irenitar, the weather was worse than ever. It had always been a planet of snow and ice, but with the destructive blast, the planet's entire water supply had evaporated within minutes, and much of it was flung out of the atmosphere and into space. Some of it strengthened the atmosphere, trapping in more heat from Braxis's sun. The rest rained down constantly on the surface and caused huge mud slides, massive erosions, and extensive flooding. The increased heat made the water evaporate again, leading the way for more and more storms that would continue until the environment could stabilize, leaving Braxis to become a patchwork of deserts and waterways. However, the great distance from its sun would bring the planet back to its frozen state, if with much less snow, within a few centuries' time.

For now the Protoss and Terrans would arrive near the northern polar area of Braxis, where the weather was less a threat, for the moment. Already the cap was freezing, and the continent itself was dotted with ice. Giant ruts where the ocean shore once lay were barren and sandy, and only past a great distance could water be seen.

Enyidar in his scout flew over the odd landscape, easily finding the dark patch of creep. The Zerg were there, just as Kerrigan said they were. Amazed, Enyidar flew over the brood, noticing the vast number of brood wyrms and guardians that covered the center of the Zerg base. The outlining areas were empty, which Enyidar guessed contained many burrowed ground units.

With a sigh, the Templar signalled back to Akeroyd. "It is all as Kerrigan has said. The Zerg are there, yet we have no way of knowing their loyalty, nor do we know that this is not all a hoax."

"Yeah, and how are we supposed to control them anyway?" Akeroyd complained. "She said something about a somebody we were supposed to meet, but I don't remember anything else."

"There is nothing else to remember. I quite recall Kerrigan's shortness in this matter, and she merely said 'representative', then refused to speak of it more. This shall be a another nightmare of hers, for certain."

"If this 'representative' is supposed to be Zerg, how's it supposed to understand us? We don't talk Zerg, and it sure doesn't know how to do more than grunt."

"That we shall have to find out, at the risk of our lives. Very likely we can proceed with psionic communication, if the Zerg are intelligent enough. I do hope that Kerrigan is worthy of our trust in this. Though if she is not, doubtless she will not live to see tomorrow. Yet while the risk of failure is high now, I will trust that our leaders have made the correct decision in this situation."

John's laughter was snorting and almost drunken, confusing the Protoss.

"Oh..eh, wait, that wasn't a joke?"

"No."

"Uh, sorry. I just thought it's funny...you know, about this being a 'correct decision' and trusting our commanders..."

"Hm. If we were all led by 'Emperor' Arturus Mengsk, then I suppose it would indeed have been a joke."

"Ah, come on. He ain't all that bad. Ya just don't know him that well."

"I know of him well enough. If not, however, then neither should you assume that Artanis is someone to take lightly, for he has shown his character in these difficult times. I trust that his influence has shown Mengsk how someone of true honor presides over his people."

"Uh huh...you sure? They say one bad apple ruins the bunch, not one good makes all the rest nice and perfect."

"I hope you are not trying to imply anything about the Patriarch."

"I ain't implyin' nothin'. Anyhow, let's just get them Khaydarins and run outta here, okay? No sense in goin' on arguing like this."

"Indeed."

By this time, a command center and a nexus already flanked both sides of the Zerg colony and their mineral gatherers were well at work. Pylons began to shine on the east, while on the west blinking lights and grinding gears revealed the progress the Terrans made in supply depots and barracks. It was only well after the footsoldiers and flyers were developed that the General and the Executor dared to meet their Zerg representative.

Scuffling his boots as he went along, Akeroyd reluctantly found himself walking around the Zerg creep. He kicked at the creep's slimy substance, hiding his aprehension under an exoskeleton of stern anger. Five firebats and a dozen marines mimicked this attitude as they came around the base's edge, met from ahead by Enyidar and six of his zealots, backed by four dragoons. They stopped as they faced each other.

"Well, General," Enyidar said. "Shall we meet our guide?"

"I'm for sayin' heck with it and torchin' the Zerg," Akeroyd admitted. "But hey, what else are we supposed to do? Let's finish this, I guess."

"My thoughts also, more or less." Enyidar looked towards the hive cluster. "I wonder where it is, this creature with whom we are to speak. Why hasn't it announced itself?"

"Huh. This is the part where they expect us to walk up in there and try and find out. Then they ambush us and take out our bases. Ain't that like it always was? But we gotta suck it up and go, I guess."

And they did. It was an odd feeling to wander through a Zerg base. While obviously most of their units were burrowed underground, a few were not, and their flyers hung overhead, staring at the strangers with drooling mouths and snarling teeth. Claws and shadows of claws swayed above the non-infested folk, a distraction that kept the eyes of the soldiers, for the moment.

"Oh..." Enyidar choked.

They all turned ahead, unprepared for what they saw before them. It was a hideous thing before them, a mess of scales and carapace. Two long, spine-ridden arms sprouted out of massive shoulders, which gave new meaning to the phrase "shoulder blades". Powerfully double-jointed legs clawed fiercely at the creep between its pointed and dirt-encrusted toes. A wide mouth was set full of six inch teeth that protruded from barely existant lips. It had nerve cords, a pair of poisonous green, glowing eyes, and a Protoss's height, for it was a Protoss. Was a Protoss.

The humans couldn't help but stare, and the uninfested brethren did the same as they learned another meaning for abomination. The infested, however, was far from speechless.

"I was Akkos," he said. "And I suppose it should do for a name now. What is the reason for this intrusion? Have you forgotten yourselves? Oh, do not be so put off by appearances. Looks are little when compared to sheer power, something I have in spades. Now, who is in charge of this? The Queen spoke of an Enyidar."

"I am Enyidar." the Templar answered, all the more disturbed by the infested Protoss's use of his name. "And this is General Akeroyd of the Terran Dominion."

Akkos cocked his head slightly downward, observing the human who now wore his most stubborn face. With a twitch of his eye Akkos dismissed him, saying, "I aknowledge this thing before me called General."

"What?" Akeroyd sputtered back. "It's us in charge of this endeavor, and don't you forget it, ya stupid half-Toss. That means you can keep your yapper shut and do as you're told. You understand me?"

"Hm." the infested Protoss refused to look at Akeroyd and instead addressed Enyidar. "One would think that the thing would be more polite towards he who has its life in his hands. I am, after all, its guide toward its destination and prize. It would do well for General to keep his own 'yapper' disengaged."

"Akkos, that is enough!" Enyidar could barely stand this. "You yourself are not in the best position, therefore hold your tounge. We must all survive these hybrid together, so if you are quite finished insulting the general, you may either guide us or go seek shelter with the hybrids, if they can accept you and your mighty arrogance."

Akkos snarled at Enyidar and a wave of spit went flying along with his hiss. But it was a mute action. The infested stood down, restraining his claws. "Very well then."

Akeroyd wasn't willing to waste any more time. "Look, you know the deal. You take my squadron down to the crystals while the Toss keep watch outside. We'll get them and keep 'em until Zeratul gets back; don't let none of the Zerg so much as touch the Khaydarins, got it? They made more'n enough trouble with 'em already."

"I hardly see why Terrans should keep hold of the crystals."

"Pssht. Dude, didn't Blades tell you nothin'? That's what was decided 'cause we know the least about 'em, can't use 'em at all. To be fair I guess. We'll keep 'em plenty safe, so that's plenty griping for you."

Akkos's eyes turned a violent orange-red, but he said nothing and the others didn't stay to hear anyway. The Terrans and Protoss returned to their bases, well irked by the situation and ready to finish it as quickly as possible.

"You forgot about them, didn't you?" Akeroyd asked Enyidar. "I know I did. In all this hybrid nonsense, it just kinda slipped my mind."

"I could not forget, but I did not take them into consideration. Who could have predicted that it would take so little time to turn good warriors into that kind of unspeakable perversions? Kerrigan is cruel in her daring to present that thing to us."

Akeroyd stared back across the barren hill at the Terran base. He and Enyidar were scouting out the area alone several yards out from the base, at the edge of the caves themselves. The entrance was nothing more than a large hole in black stone, every burnt boulder covered in a slick of ice. Beyond his command center he could see the clouds stir and darken. A storm would hit them soon. Grinding beneath their feet, ashes made the snow a pallid grey, one sign of Braxis's destruction. The rest of the landscape was a smooth land carved by the psionic flames that washed it before, and tiny cracks and extensive burns were hidden under ice. The empty wind whistled through the cracked and unnaturally carved rocks.

"Yeah, and what's with the attitude?" the general continued. "He sure can use a lesson in manners. Seems like Blades would have a problem, him being all snarky like that."

"Well, from what I have heard, Akkos was never very fond of humans even as a Protoss. Nor the Dark Templar, for that matter. He never even left Aiur with the other survivors, but instead chose to stay in the ruin, survive as he could, and wait for more of the willing Templar to return and help restore the homeworld."

"That's mad dedication, and all the worse for us now." Akeroyd walked over to the cave, looking inside its dark expanse. "I don't like this. I gotta actually follow this guy in here and dig out the crystal, wherever it is, and who know how long that'll take? Just too bad them deinfestin' nanites don't seem to work on Toss, huh? Definitely bringing some ghosts along so they can keep track of his mind and see if he's thinkin' anything off beat."

Enyidar shook his head. "You should have asked them about it after we met Akkos. Or one of us. His mind is completely shut out, hidden deep inside Zerg violence and spite. All we and your psychics detected was hatred, and not a single clear thought could be pinpointed. Possibly, after much time, we could overcome this, but not now, and not without capturing him for study first."

The general twitched. "So what do we do about it then? This Akkos dude's got us by the balls, ain't nothin' we can do about it. I'm startin' ta think this was a big mistake. No way we'd be here if Mengsk and Artanis knew a thing about this. We should call 'em and get outta here now."

"And the crystals? Should we abandon them to the hybrids? I know we cannot trust this infested monster, but we still have other options. While his mind is shut off, he cannot communicate to the psionically incompetent Zerg without revealing his thoughts. Your ghosts can well inform you of whatever conspiracies that he can plan. Or, if you are especially worried, I will try to restrain him from entering the caves and you may follow a less bothersome Zerg."

"Nah, that brings up the communication problem again. I'll just have to grin and bear it, I guess. You're right about the psionics though, and you'd know that kinda thing anyway so I'll be alright. I guess we'll just stick by the plan then, if we have to, so you go ahead with guardin' the entrance while my guys watch out for the Zerg."

A probe arrived, mechanically humming and beeping to itself. With a silent order from its commander, it sung out its compliance and began to warp in pylons around the cave's entrance. Zealots and dragoons began to arrive, followed by the barely visible shifting light waves of hidden Dark Templar.

"Alright," Akeroyd said. "How much time do you need to get everything together here? My men are ready whenever you are."

"Five minutes will suffice." Enyidar responded. "Are you certain that you wish to enter the caves yourself? In this sort of danger it would seem wisest not to risk a leader when he very well might not return. Would Mengsk not be grieved to lose his general?"

"Hey, you're riskin' your hide, ain't you? I don't ask my men to do nothin' I wouldn't do myself. Besides," Akeroyd laughed. "I think Mengsk would get over it. Now let's finish this."

Tanks in formation rolled in and got into position behind the steadily warping photon cannons, per request of Enyidar. In return three arbiters were ready to dimensionally recall the Terrans just in case it was necessary to get them out quickly. Two human squadrons of marines, medics, and firebats stood ready to enter in the darkness, to be escorted by vultures and four ghosts along the way.

While the others were preparing, Akkos and several hydralisks approached, standing patiently opposite the cave entrance and waiting for the Protoss buildings to finish warping in and the tanks to get settled. And once they were, Akkos gestured for the warriors to move aside. Obeying only when Enyidar nodded, they stepped casually away from the underground entrance. With no more warning than a wild cry, an outpouring of zerglings and lurkers rushed outside, dodging the Protoss defenses and fleeing towards the Zerg hive cluster the infested Templar ruled.

"They were there to ensure that no surprises lay inside for us." Akkos offered as a simple explanation. "Now General, shall we seek out our Khaydarins?"

"Yeah, yeah..."

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Author's Notes:

- I swear, Akeroyd is the most awkward general ever.

- I wasn't actually planning to update this story anymore, but I found some more of it that wasn't already up. Notedly, this was as much as I was able to come up with before the brick wall totally destroyed my efforts at the Protoss missions. I simply couldn't think of anything to do with the Khaydarin crystals, and what the heck else could the Protoss do in the face of a species that pwns pretty much everybody? However, I will post it here, just for the heck of it.


	20. Trapped

Akeroyd hated this network of caves worse than the other on Procol II. The winding tunnels, the variable wideness and narrowness of the path before them, and the lightless distance all wrecked havoc with his imagination. Though trying to be stern and disciplined in front of his soldiers, his eyes would often glance toward the ceiling in search of flying mammals, even though he guessed the Zerg could have already killed them. And that was another suspicion of his. Sometimes he would turn and look at Akkos, trying to guess his mind. But not even his ghosts could do that, so he just shook his head and turned away.

It was a silent hour and a half though the endless tunnels, deeper and deeper into the broad unnamed mountainside. Only hissing, slithering, and the clang of footsteps made any noise at all, echoing paranoid thoughout the way. Akkos had nothing to say to Akeroyd, and there was nothing for John to say in return, omitting foul language, or pseudo-foul in John's case. Nevertheless, neither group was encouraged by walking next to their closest of enemies.

"So..." Akeroyd finally got the nerve to say. "How long is this supposed to take?"

"For one with slow steps as yours, there is no way to determine. Were you able to stride as I can, it would be a two hour walk to simply get there."

Insulted but not entirely put off, Akeroyd tried to indulge his curiosity, reasoning that it was better than silence for another hour or more. "So, uh, how's bein' infested for ya? Not boring at all, I take it."

"No."

"No?"

"No. It is interesting enough to save the swarm from what could prove our most worthy opposition we have faced in our many years. These En-hybrids, excuse me, are alike to my kind in the sense of the dual purities. Defeating them will be a great glory." Akkos gave Akeroyd a particular smile. "And it is also well entertaining to see the reactions I recieve from inferior beings."

Akeroyd wondered if Enyidar would be bothered if he decided to kill the infested Templar, thinking that the Praetor would rather try and see if the nanites could be reworked to affect Protoss.

"Of course it would hurt him if rude General attempted to slay me." Akkos answered for the general. "His heart pities that which he cannot comprehend; it is weak."

"Aw, c'mon." John scoffed, cursing himself silently for not remembering. "Give 'im a break, he just cares about his brethren."

"He is no longer my brethren. Enyidar is nothing more than a component; I am the real end result, the true summit of the Xel'Naga's glory-"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. _That's _your brethren now."

Akeroyd pointed to a hydralisk. It was crouched in front of a side crevice, trying to privately vomit up his excess saliva. Upon being addressed, it looked up and snarled at the both of them. With a scream directed their way, it went back to its quiet slither. Glad of getting the last word, Akeroyd smiled ahead and decided he could deal with silence and ignored the angry look he was certain Akkos gave him.

"Very funny, General. You have quite an...open sense of humor. Pity if it should not last this endeavor."

"Oh, is that a threat?"

"It is simply a warning, for there are many dangers in a place like this. Pitfalls, for one...an unescapable maze of tunnels...there are the hybrids of course...bats..."

The human shivered unconsciously. "Are you done yet?"

"Now General," Akkos said with sarcasm, as well as his spit, literally dripping from his lips. "Surely you do not mind a bit of well-meant concern?"

"Shut up."

"Very well, but-"

"Just shut up, okay?"

-t-

"Well, General," Akeroyd cringed at the sound of Akkos and his mockery. "This is the place."

Looking around, all John saw was a large cavern, stalactites hanging down and stalagmites pointing up. The ground was rocky and cold, centered by a smattering of small stones and pebbles. It looked little different than the other caverns the group had passed through at one point or another, excepting that it was dead-ended by a pile of boulders that covered an entire thirty yards in width, fourteen in height.

"What do you mean?" the general responded. "What's here? There's no crystals."

"They are at this time underground for their own protection, buried somewhere in here, about four meters below the surface. Dig them up and retrieve them, then we shall depart."

"Uh...I was kinda thinkin' that hydralisks are better built for that..."

Akkos rolled his eyes. "You said that you wished no Zerg would touch them. Get your precious possessions yourself then."

"Alright, alright, you got a point. Let your things pull dig down and find 'em, then I'll get 'em once they're dug up. So long as you don't take 'em, and don't you dare try, we don't have a problem. No funny business now, or I'll make sure there's a whole volley of bullets stuck in your dead carcass."

"Whatever." The infested Templar stood aside.

John ordered his men to stand around the edges of the room, giving the Zerg space to dig and giving the Terrans the advantage of being able to oversee and fight back instantly if the Zerg tried to betray them. The hydralisks dug in, scattering dirt and rocks wildly as they plunged into the ground. In less than a minute they were well below the surface, digging deeper and deeper into the rock. The dirt they hurled above them somehow filled the downward tunnels they dug, the mystery behind Zerg burrowing. As the digging went deeper, the sounds grew less and less audible. Soon there was silence in the cavern.

"Um, did they find it yet?" Akeroyd looked for Akkos. "Hey, where'd you go?"

The doorway was empty with no sign of the infested. The marines looked toward each other nervously, wondering what they should do. Akeroyd however, was already running his mind as fast as he could.

"Ah crap, he's gonna go start something up with the 'Toss, I bet. Squad Echo, y'all stop hesitatin' and run on back to the base and kill them Zerg. Squad Foxtrot, radio this in to Captain Britt and keep watch on them hydras dug. 'Cept you, Marcellus." Akeroyd turned to his Foxtrot ghost. "Tell me what that dude told the hydralisks when he sent 'em down."

"He just said 'go'." Marcellus answered as the others obeyed. "This must have been planned from the beginning for them to know what he was talking about. Also, I think there must have been a nydus canal underneath this cavern they could reach, because Zerg can only burrow so deep before they suffocate."

"Sir!" one of the marines called out. "Somehow all our radios are jammed! The signal can't get through."

"What? I don't know how they did that, but it won't do much good. Marcellus, you try and reach Protoss and warn them. Those guys should hear us. And-hey, what are you guys doing back here?"

Echo squad stood in the entrance of the cavern, angry and uncertain. One of them answered, "The way's blocked. Somehow that infested 'Toss filled it up with so many boulders and crap, it's like the whole mountain shoved down on us! And what's more, that blockage won't budge for nothin'!"

-t-

Enyidar was apprehensive. It was hard not to be when your hopes rested with the Zerg and all you could do was wait an indeterminable amount of time for supposedly invincible enemies and hope you could fight them off long enough to get a prize that may or may not actually be there in the end. Standing with his warriors, he gazed inside the cave, peering at the dark and looking for the small glow of Terran flashlights coming around the bend. He saw nothing, no sign of any soldiers.

It had been three hours already since Akeroyd had followed the infested Protoss into the deep. Thinking of Kerrigan's tricks, he wondered if any of them were going to make it out alive. Though times had progressed beyond the days of the Dae'Uhl, Enyidar still felt its tug and his sense of responsibility to the humans was probably stronger than it had ever been. The brave, foolish humans needed all the help they could get from their guides the Protoss, and it plagued the High Templar's conscience that he had allowed them to go in alone.

But there was no point in worrying about it, nor time either. He realized that he would have to concentrate entirely on his present task, dull and disheartening as it was. The observers were flying above, resisting the winds and sleet that were growing stronger the past few minutes. They glowed and beeped peacefully under the dark clouds.

Enyidar sighed and turned toward an archon that glowed, sending a shimmering blue tint over the surrounding ice-covered rocks and rubble. "N'rogara-Salogel, is there any change to the situation?"

"Nothing. There are no hybrids, no odd activities from the Zerg, and we still have not determined the reason why our communications are nonoperational or why the observer we sent along with the humans has cut off its signal. And no word from the Terrans on the inside." the archon added. "If they are having as much trouble as we are here, then it is certainly understandable."

"I do not like this. Akeroyd should have signalled us five minutes ago."

"That is not so long a time, Enyidar. Perhaps he is busy at the moment."

"Perhaps, but I am not willing to trust that fact completely. In no more than ten minutes we shall go inside and search for them. Prepare a search party to be ready in that time. I knew this plan was far too dangerous for them."

N'rogara-Salogel headed off towards the Protoss base to obey his command. As he did, the wind picked up slightly, blowing tiny flakes of snow along with it. The sky was getting darker; the storm wasn't far off.

_"When the blizzard starts,"_ he thought. _"There will be no escape from it. Whether or not we can accomplish our goal, an exit must be prepared for. It does not matter that we have the crystals if we are dead."_

A human voice, uncertain, sounded in his mind. _"Hey, I don't know if any of y'all can hear me, but somethin' weird's goin' on down here!"_

Enyidar recognized Captain Leroy Britt's voice. _"Yes?"_

_"The Zerg are packin' it up! The overlords are startin' to pick up all the ground units and flyin' out!"_

And it was true, becoming obvious very quickly. Overlords, convoyed by guardians and devourers, flew out into the frozen sky, disappearing behind the clouds. Even as they flew away, a shadow began to grow east of the caves, flinging stone, ice, and dirt with it. And it was headed straight for their settlements.

"That is no storm..." Enyidar said as he began to address his warriors. "Send in the carriers and prepare the lines!"

Tanks guarding the Terran base were already firing out at the upcoming hybrids. Though small cries could be heard coming from the livid beasts, few of them fell. They seemed to be the smaller ones described by Kerrigan, though they more than matched a human's height. Cloaked wraiths flew over the massing enemy, trying to escape notice as they fired below. It didn't work at all. Round blasts of psionic energies sprung up and slaughtered the wraiths in less than three shots each, counting splash damage. Carriers caught up to the front line and began their campaign, even less successful than the humans. Each of the spheres could consume five interceptors in their wake and still have energy left to force its way to the carrier itself.

Enyidar started pulling his forces away from the cave entrance and sending them ahead. They ran forward, but almost immediately heard thuds behind them, accompanied by the blasts of photon cannons. The tanks at once stopped and went into seige mode and the Protoss turned around just in time to see a great wave of the larger hybrids jump straight off of the cliff and into a fight. With great leaps the monsters landed on the Templar, striking with large claws at crackling and dissolving shields. One of them even punched straight through a tank and grasped the poor human inside. And pulling the operator out though the foot-wide hole his fist had made rendered the body too shredded to sustain life.

Forced to run to the base and its steady defense, the Protoss fled for their lives. Vindicators fired their lightning guns behind them, but few hit their targets. With agile bounds the hybrids would simply jump or roll away, only to come again with no lessened pace. In return tiny bolts of psionic energy flew barely seen toward the runners. They pierced through the Protoss shielding, not damaging them in any way. But for the warrior on the inside it was a different matter. As if poisoned, the warriors fell almost instantly, their eyes' light waning. Littering the ground, they were easy prey as the hybrids found them.

Only a few of the Protoss and none of the tanks made it back to their bases. The commanders began to set up the front lines, hastily bringing in the tanks and dragoons up as the growing hundreds of hybrids. Explosions began their sounding in the hard resistance, and the oncoming footsteps pounded their deadly response. And in this moment, worst it could be in the battle, came thought-spoken words from afar off.

_"Hey, the Zerg abandoned us! Somehow they blocked off the passageway and we're stuck!"_

"They're under attack..." Marcellus answered slowly. "the hybrids are here and just started to attack the base now. We're completely cut off, and there's no way they can retrieve us."

A silence took over the cavern, excepting a few muted curses. As they stood in that quiet moment, they realised that they were hearing a steady rumbling from overhead, either not very loud or extremely distant. Akeroyd paced away from the others as he listened to its sound. Soon enough he found himself near the edge of the rocky wall, looking at the boulders.

"We didn't go in very deep." Akeroyd said, more speaking to himself than anyone else. "Was mostly a...a lateral way in, that's right. Didn't go so much up or down, don't think so anyway. Thing is, we're stuck deep under some mountains, so there's no tellin' how much rock's in the way."

The marines exchanged sidelong glances as their general kicked at a few of the base boulders. Mutterings echoed gently, but John ignored them. He looked to the ceiling and saw how it met with the boulders, how the rocks were piled on each other.

"Huh...this rock's gotta been here awhile...the dust...an' if it has, then the roof up there ain't so thick. Rocks can't hold up but so much when they ain't a wall...definitely not safe to try and blow it up, unless we want to . Alright men, we're diggin' ourselves outta here. Echo, climb up and get the top rocks, and you'll hand 'em down to Foxtrot. Fox, you're settin'em, throwin'em, whatever it takes to get the rocks over by that other wall. Now move!"

Marcellus was doubtful, and didn't move when the others went to obey. "With all due respect, sir, what will this accomplish? The hybrids are already out there and between us and the base. Our number is too small to fight through them, and even if we could the base would either be destroyed or abandoned, leaving us stranded here."

"Shut up and haul rocks, Lieutenant."

"But sir, we can't be rescued. Everyone else is trying to get off this God-forsaken planet, and they'll be too busy to remember us, even if we don't get immediately killed-"

"Lieutenant..." Akeroyed gestured for the soldiers to continue with the digging before he went on. "Ya don't seem to understand some things here. One, I am totally aware o' what's going on. Two, if the 'Toss get off the surface, all they gotta do is that recall thing and they can pull us out. Three, I'm the general, you're the Lieutenant. Know what that means? Means you're shuttin' your hole and haulin' rocks! Get to it, and that's an order!"

"Yes sir..."

It was tiring work. The highest rocks were were easy enough to pull away, but it soon became hard to pry them from their wedged positions. Years of being wedged in the cliff pushed them down firmly and held them to the point where it took four marines and a rifle used for leverage to pry away at the hardest wedged stones, and the injury to the rifle was well grieved.

As more and more of the rocks were tossed aside, the marines began to notice that instead of ending somewhere on top of the pile, the cave wall angled downwards and out behind the boulders. It continued to angle until it was horizontal, then continued back down and closing everyone in. It was a dead end, and the soldiers groaned with the realization, immediately abandoning their work and finding a spot to sit and curse at their bad luck.

"Jus' like the Zerg." one said. "They give us a ray of hope that turns out to be a waste of time!"

Akeroyd didn't stop them. Climbing to where they had stopped, he shoved away another large boulder; it rolled and crunched its way down until it settled at the bottom. The general observed the sharp angle at which the rock turned outward. With the side of his hand he smacked it, but not so much as a particle of dust fell from it. John nodded, then went down the stones and walked to another wall. He punched it; nothing much happened. Shaking his hand, he went to another wall and struck it, paying strict attention to the reaction. The marines were beginning to think that their leader was insane.

"Good, good." John murmured, then turned to his soldiers. "Alright men, get back to those rocks. Fox, this time you pry, Echo moves 'em."

Nobody moved, but stared at Akeroyd in object consternation.

"What? This cave is stable enough to handle our bombs now, if we just get the junk out of the way, unless you guys like gettin' impaled by chunks a' rock and debris. Besides, if we put the bombs down under where it slopes, the floor will absorb more of the blast and that's less we gotta worry about. So c'mon, stones don't move by themselves."

-t-

More hybrids were coming in on both fronts, closing the races in. Spider mines seemed to be the only defense making a difference; the little machines could embed shrapnel well into hybrid organs. However, the enraged and damaged beasts, the ones still able to walk, raced in to avenge themselves. Running through the photon cannons like they were nothing, the hybrid forces tore at the Protoss, again entirely disregarding their shields. The psi blades of the zealot did minimal damage against the rough carapace exoskeletons; warp blades were little better, and Dark Templar cloaking abilities didn't hide a single one from the deadly sharp claws.

On the other side of the battle, the Terrans were doing a little better. The tanks managed to hold back the smaller hybrids with their blasts, scattering their fight patterns. Return fire took out tank after tank nevertheless, and the resulting explosions were able to slaughter the nearby marines. Flames coated the front lines; the firebats screamed with fury as they torched the smalls, creating an inpenetrable line of fire. But straight through the flames the mad hybrids leaped, shredding the armor of soldier after soldier.

Once the firebats were nothing more than rubble under the monsters' feet, the real rampage started. Supply depots were burning. Scattered troops were forced farther and father inward, until the only difference between the Protoss and Terran bases were the red and blue burnings and psionic meltdowns that marked their broken buildings.

A large hybrid, colored a deep burnt brown, charged down on Enyidar. Two long energy spines protruded from each of his fists, both of which he swang hard and fast at the Protoss. Enyidar was forced to duck under constant blows; the powerful swings flew at him like missles. Able to swing his own blade at the hybrid's abdomen, Enyidar struck out only to find that his blade barely scratched his enemy. A small blue layer of energies gently glowed around the brown one, and he snarled in something of a laugh as another punch struck the Templar in the shoulder.

Claws sank deep into his sides as the hybrid picked him up and hurled him into the bones and armor of a fallen ghost. Losing interest in him, the larger hybrid turned to strike at three dragoons while a smaller charged at him to finish the kill. Two darting spines stung forward, but hit only the ground. Enyidar rolled away and punched, concentrating more on the use of his knuckles rather than psionics.

The blow forced the hybrid back for a moment only; it snarled and pounced. Teeth sprung out in an instant and implanted themselves in Enyidar's shoulder, a lucky miss from his neck. Blue blood skirted over the rubble beneath the Templar and he cried out. None would come to help him; the shadows of more and more enemies passed overhead in that fearful moment. The hybrid pulled back for another bite.

Swinging his hand back quickly, Enyidar grabbed hold of something, too quickly to know exactly what it was, then forcefully shoved it through the top of the hybrid's widening mouth. Piercing that flesh, Enyidar continued to push it through, until the monster could only twitch and writhe. The Templar stood up, then realized what he had pushed into the creature's brain was a half-shattered and still bloody human thighbone. With no time to be disgusted at that, Enyidar ran back into the fight. If anyone was going to escape this, the air units were going to need time to warp in.

-t-

As more of the smalls attacked the Terran side, Britt was sending more and more tanks and support troops to the front line, now devoid of any bunkers. Behind them, vultures were planting more spider mines into the ground. Wraiths flew over them, scattering in their flight patterns to hail down lasers on the enemy. Three battlecruisers followed along behind, letting their yamato cannons break open holes in the hybrid offensive. Psi charges blasted up at the foremost cruiser, sizzling and cracking on the underbelly. Sparks rained, cascading over a squad of firebats. Interior explosions rocked the craft and impaled several crewmen aboard. With a shudder it began its drop, slow at first.

"All ground units back out of there!" Britt ordered. "Pull back with the vultures then pack into the dropships!"

More wraiths supplemented the loss of fighting forces, along with a few scouts that decided to help. Running as fast as their armor allowed, the footsoldiers scrambled away over the minefield, thankful for artificial intellegence. But the hybrids were quicker. They ran after them, setting off the mines. Little mechanical explosives jumped out of the frozen dirt and collided with the enemy, however, there wasn't enough time for everyone to get out of the way. The shattered corpses of several marines and two medics joined those of the hybrids.

"Ghosts! Now!"

"Nuclear-Nuc-Nuc-Nuclear launch detected."

Four bombs were signalled in. The wraiths and scouts flew off, and the human forces stayed well away. In less than a minute clouds filled the air around the borders of the shinking allied bases; the offensive was cut off in an atmosphere of complete atomic poison. But as the air cleared of its debris, it was also becoming clear that the strike wasn't as affective as hoped. A few lay pained on the muck, having been tossed clear by the blast. One was victim to the broken ice and staggered blindly around, bleeding from his eyes.

The rest simply rose up from the rubble; shaken but not destroyed, they wandered and trembled from the atomic affect, dizzy and weak. These hybrids were out of the fight for a moment, however, and the others behind them were obligated to catch up and reinforce the front line. But as they ran forward, all they were able to do was fire their charges at the hastily exiting dropships, shuttles, and fightercraft that flew into the atmosphere. A few fell explosively to the ground, but the majority were able to flee out of range.

On the heavily damaged battlecruiser _Beowulf_, where Captain Britt was the acting commander, moral was low. The wearied crew still pushed their vessel's speed to the breaking point, even though no persuit had been detected as of yet. Scans were not fully trusted, but it was nevertheless a small comfort that they reported no signs of hybrid ships.

"We should have known they were there," Britt thought outloud. "The radio communications went out, scans went screwy, and even the Protoss said there was some psionic problem with doing a simple dimensional recall. Messed up...why didn't the hybrids have any air support?"

"Don't say that just yet," the helmsman responded. "We have a phlanax-class bogey ship at dimensional degree L8.21 along with a whole battallion of fighters."

"Where are they going?"

"To where we were settled. They're not coming this way, and don't seem to be very interested in catching up to us and finishing the job. I believe they're letting us go."

"For now." Britt lightly slapped his palm against the arm of his seat. "They know they can just defeat us another time even if we get away now. Or they have something more pressing to do on Braxis, like take care of those nuked. I don't know. Even though it's gonna be the worst thing I heard all day, what's the casualty report?"

"Well, we lost fifty-five percent troop resources, which is dam' lucky if you ask me. That would include the two squadrons that went with Akeroyd into the caves." the helmsman's professional demeanor wavered. "Sir, if I could say a word, I think we should stop, go back and try to find him. The general, I mean. It just isn't right to abandon him."

"You'll maintain speed, Corporal."

"But sir-"

"Maintain it!" Leroy yelled, then gruffly sighed. "Believe me, I know what I'm doing."

\\\\\\\\

Author's Notes:

- Oh man, this just brings me back. This story was inspired from listening to a music cd, and I listened to it all summer while typing it up on a laptop I "borrowed" from my dad. It just brings me back in the day. Those were good times. And just so you know, I'm not going to forget this story again. I won't be finishing it, but I will be summarizing what I intended to do with it and why it stopped in the end. I may even rewrite a lost chapter, where Zeratul meets one of the Xel'Naga. I don't think I deleted that chapter, but the first laptop I used did die out, so it's possible I didn't copy the file in time. In any case, I'll at least cap it off once everything is posted.


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